Day 6 of our Iceland roadtrip was back to walking, climbing stairs. The only addition being, we did all that in snow, rain, sleet, wind and biting chill!!!
We started early from Hotel Egilstadir (read: Iceland Roadtrip Day-5: Touring the East Fjords of Iceland), after a heavy breakfast, considering the two main waterfalls, Najmafjall geo-thermal valley, Lake Myvatn in the itinerary for the day. It had been raining all night. We armed ourselves with our warmest clothing, kept the waterproof add-on pants and jackets handy and set out…
Despite the rain, we drove about 250kms cutting across from east Iceland to the north, crossed two mountain passes in snowfall and rainfall. As if that was not enough, we walked about 3kms in snowfall and rainfall to see Europe’s most powerful waterfall, Dettifoss, and its sister, Selfoss, in the Vatnajökul national park. Rain or no rain, keep your waterproof clothing handy for the water spurts from the waterfalls. The walk up to the falls is winding and long…enjoy every moment of the rocks and roar…
From there, we headed towards Myvatn. On the way, we crossed the Námaskarð pass and hit the Najmafjall geo-thermal valley — a you-have-to-see-it-to-believe-it landmass with its boiling mud pools, craters ozzing out sulphur smoke, and the whole hill turned brown with sulphur deposits. With many hues of brown, and red too, the place is completely out of a sci-fi movie. And eerie. For when was the last time I saw a landmass bubbling away, breathing out smoke and smelling like it will swallow everyone in a blink?! See them all here. Be ready for the sulphur stench though…
Even as you cross the pass and reach the other side of the hill, you see a blue lagoon. The shade of the blue captivates you for a good while. With smoke flying out from several sites, you are convinced this is a scene straight from a fairytale….the bad witch would have turned the lake blue, you tell others in a sudden fit of storytelling!
As if all these weren’t over, we were yet to discover the riches of Lake Myvatn with its dramatic lava formations, pseudo-craters, crater lakes….
At Myvatn, we stopped by the Mývatnsstofa visitor centre in Reykjahlíð village. Grabbed a quick bite of sandwiches for lunch, refilled water, and picked up free maps for the area. The information center is comprehensive in its coverage of the area’s history and geography. A must-visit place if with kids..
Myvatn is very big and can easily do with a day dedicated for its sights and trails. First of all, we went to see the Grjótagjá thermal spring famous for being a thermal nature bath inside a cave (bathing prohibited though) and made famous by the Game of Throne series.
From the spring, we drove up to the Skútustaðir pseudo craters, formed not by volcanic eruptions, but by water and steam explosions. More than 2000 years old, these craters are pseudo craters in the form of grassy bowls spreading across the Myvatn lake. Serene and beautiful, the place makes for a lovely trek…
We however hopped off to Dimmuborgir – ‘dark castles / cities’ in Icelandic, folklore calls it the entrance to hell, the place where Satan landed! Well, that’s how eerie and unearthly this site of lava hillocks and caves is that had been formed by a volcanic eruption some 2300 years ago. You can spend hours here hiking through its many trails, reading about it history and folklore. Dimmuborgir is the home to the Icelandic Yule Lads trolls, their mother Grýla, her third husband Leppalúði and the Christmas cat that eats people who don’t get any clothes for Christmas!
After Dimmuborgir, we checked in at our hotel (Icelandair Hotel Myvatn), and went to a nearby farm for a good dinner of farm fresh meats.
***************************
Planning a trip to Iceland? Here is help with the itinerary of a 10-day roadtrip in Iceland