Walking on glacier and surfing the south coast

執筆者: Jórunn

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Skógafoss
Reynisfjara beach
Vík í Mýrdal
Sólheimajökull glacier walk
Eyjafjallajökull
Seljalandsfoss
more photos

Walking on glacier and surfing the south coast

Recently I went on this amazing tour and I want to tell you a little bit about it. The main focus or the highlight of the tour is the hike on Sólheimajökull glacier but on your way to the glacier you will surf the south coast and get a chance to explore several beautiful gems such as the mighty Skógafoss, Seljalandsfoss, black beach at Reynisfjara and Vík í Mýrdal. Also you will see many glaciers and volcanos on your way when driving as for example the famous Eyjafjallajökull glacier volcano to mention one.

The tour started early in the morning from Reykjavík center and we had an excellent guide on the bus named Kristberg or Kris. He explained everything perfectly while we where driving and told us many interesting stories and facts about Iceland.

Skógafoss

Our first stop was Skógafoss which is one of the biggest waterfalls in the country with a width of 25 meters and a drop of 60 m. Its always a pleasure to visit this big beautiful fall, get the refreshing spray from it and see the rainbow that the waterfall normally produces on bright days. Its possible to walk the stairs along the waterfall to view it from top but on this tour we had to follow our schedule so it was not a time for that but plenty of time to take some fun photos and simply soak in the energy from Skógafoss.

Reynisfjara beach

Next stop was the black beach Reynisfjara. There is something really magical about this beach and it always feels good to come there. The waves are normally really big and powerful crashing on the beach with big drummer kinda noise. You really feel the nature when walking this beach. Reynisfjara beach is known for its special basalt wall and caves that can be explored when the tide is not too high. From Reynisfjara you can both view the basalt columns Reynisdrangar on the left as well as the promontory Dyrhólaey on the right.

Vík í Mýrdal

From Reynisfjara beach we drove to Vík í Mýrdal which is very close to the black beach. Vík is the southernmost village in Iceland with just about 300 inhabitants and is an important service center for both visitor and inhabitants. In Vík we had a longer stop and a lunch break. I chose to walk to the beach and get some shots of Reynisdrangar which can be viewed from there. This beach is one of my favorite in Iceland so I always go there when in this area. Gives me a special energy somehow. Other possibilities where to lunch and relax and also there are some wool shops there offering great icelandic clothing and design for a better price than in Reykjavík city.

Sólheimajökull glacier walk

From Vík we drove directly to the spot everyone had been waiting for, the Sólheimajökull glacier. There we had almost 2 hour stop. Everything was so well organised from A-Z and I have to give the glacier guides a full star rating. To begin with everyone was given their right sized crampons and ice-axe and I think we all felt a little bit like extreeme mountain hikers at this point, so much fun. The group was divided into smaller groups each with their own guide. The guide helped us to put our crampons on because its really important to have them sturdy and correctly put on and safety was very important to our guides which gave us all a good feeling.

On our way up we stopped several times and our guide told us everything about the glacier, the volcanic activity in the area and gave us good geological infos as well. He was very well informed giving us very accurate notes about almost every crack in the glacier. He was fun too so it was never a boring moment.

As you can see on my photos the people look pretty small compared to the glacier. That is exactly the feeling you get when up there. You feel really vulnerable when you look through those big icy fissures and discover what´s underneath and when considering that the glacier is on a constant move even capable of moving mountains. Its a lot to soak in and again a great reminder that we need to respect nature all the time. After an hour up there we headed back down, happier than before with much more knowledge in our pockets. I have to give this hike a full star rating and recommendation

Eyjafjallajökull

After the "extreeeme" glacier hike we did a short stop by the farm Thorvaldseyri which is located very close to Eyjafjallajökull glacier and came really famous in the eruption 2010. This is a beautiful farm with the glacier in its backyard so to say. From there we could view Eyjafjallajökull very well and take some shots.

Seljalandsfoss

Last stop on this trip was the famous Seljalandsfoss, the one you can walk behind. It drops 60 meters from the cliff and is very picturesque. Even if I have been there a thousand times it never bores me to explore and enjoy this nature wonder. Its a must to walk behind the waterfall and it was a great ending on a great day getting all sprayed and wet from the waterfall.

If you want to experience an adventurous day like this and explore variety things on the south coast you wont be disappointed with this tour. I highly recommend it and if you want more info about it feel free to throw me a line and I´ll answer you happily. Special thanks to Guide to Iceland that made this trip possible and note you can book your trip directly on this page.