Lagarfljótsormurinn Serpent in Lagarfljót Lake in East-Iceland - Iceland's Loch Ness
Lagarfljót lake, which is renowned for the monster in the lake, is Iceland's 3rd largest lake and warms the first place of Iceland's longest lakes at 25 km.
It is 53 square km long and its greatest depth is 112 meters. It has got bridges on both ends so you can drive around the lake, which makes for a beautiful drive.
Hallormsstaðaskógur forest, which is Iceland's largest forest covers around 15 km of the banks of the Lagarfljót lake. I have written another travel-blog on this largest forest in Iceland.
Top photo: by the monster sign
Lagarfljót
The glacial river "Jökulsá í Fljótsdal" or the Glacial river in Fljótsdalur valley originates in Vatnajökull glacier and runs into Lagarfljót lake, giving the lake its milky white greyish colour. So this lake is both a glacial river and a lake in Fljótsdalur valley.
In the depths of Lagarfljót lives a monster, Iceland's equivalent to Loch Ness, which has been seen by people through the ages, called Lagarfljótsormurinn, the Lagarfljót serpent. So beware!
Even though the lake looks so innocent and serene, as you can see in the photo below, then a lurking monster can change this picture in a jiffy!
Lagarfljót
The first recorded report is from 1345 and in 1589 the serpent (worm, wyrm, monster) is said to have raised its hump so high above the lake that a ship with full sails could have passed under it!
When the serpent slapped its body down into the water the impact was so massive that the earth trembled.
There were frequent sightings during the next centuries of the serpent raising its humps and in the 17th century there were 14 sightings of the serpent! It was considered to be a bad omen if the serpent showed itself.
In 1861 some travellers spotted the serpent and in 1967 employees at the Hallormsstaður forestry station saw the serpent swimming up the lake. They followed it by car to the edge of the forest, but it disappeared further on by Klifá river, but you can read about this river and the legend connected to it in my Hallormsstaðaskógur forest travel-blog.
In 1998 a teacher and her students saw the monster when they looked out of the windows of Hallormsstaðaskóli school!
There was a video recorded in February 2012, which might be of the serpent. The video was recorded by the farmer at Hrafnkelsstaðir farm in Fljótsdalur valley. If you watch the video you will see that it has got over 5 million hits and it was in the world news!
So be on the lookout when visiting this area, you might spot a monster!
Lagarfljót
There are several accounts of the monster and some other creatures in the lake in the Collection of Folklore of Jón Árnason. The monsters are supposed to be three, the serpent, a skate, and a seal - all of them huge!
The legend of the monster goes like this:
"Once upon a time a woman lived on a farm in Hérað by Lagarfljót lake. She had a grown daughter, to whom she gave a golden ring. The girl said: "How can I profit the most from this gold, mother?". "Put it under a heath-worm (lyngormur)", the mother replied. The girl picked up a heath-worm, put the gold under the worm, and put the worm into a coffer.
The worm lay in the coffer for a couple of days. But when the girl checked on her coffer the worm had grown in size and the coffer had started to fall apart. The girl became frightened, grabbed the coffer, and threw it into the lake.
Lagarfljótsormurinn ;)
After a long while, people started to notice the worm (serpent) in the lake. The worm started destroying people and animals crossing the lake. Sometimes it would stretch onto the banks of the lake and spouted terrible poison.
The people in this area didn't know how to solve this awful predicament. Two Finns were called in. They were supposed to kill the worm and get the gold.
They jumped into the lake but reappeared soon. The Finns said that this was a being of superior strength and the worm could not be killed and the gold retrieved. They told of another worm under the gold and that that worm was far worse than the first one.
They then tied the worm with two ropes and put one behind the flippers and the other one around the worm's tail.
Lagarfljót
Since then the worm has not been able to destroy people or animals, but from time to time it raises its hump and when that happens it is a premonition of some big event".
(Loosely translated from Þjóðsögur Jóns Árnasonar - The Collection of Folklore of Jón Árnason).
Lagarfljót in the autumn
If you want to try to spot the monster then the round-trip from Egilsstaðir around Lagarfljót is around 70 km long on ring-road 1 and road 931 with a lot of interesting sights on the way.
I have written several other travel-blogs about interesting stops in Fljótsdalur valley:
The majestic Hengifoss and Litlanesfoss Waterfalls in East Iceland
Hallormsstaðaskógur Forest in East Iceland - Iceland's largest Forest
Egilsstaðir in East Iceland and the Pearls of Fljótsdalur Valley
Our Reykjavík guide telling us about Iceland's Loch Ness by the City Hall
The mythical creature Lagarfljótsormurinn or Iceland's Loch Ness is of course also included in the Icelandic Mythical Walk | Trolls, Elves & Hidden People which you can join in Reykjavík.
On the tour, you will also learn about the mythical beings of Iceland, f.ex. the elves and trolls, and how to wake up an Icelandic zombie. I have joined this tour and can recommend it.
Have a lovely time in East Iceland and be on the lookout for Lagarfljótsormurinn serpent :)
기타 흥미로운 블로그
요쿨살론부터 비크까지, 꽃보다 청춘 5화
드디어 하늘씨과 쓰리스톤즈가 합류했는데요! 설원을 달리는 모습에 저도 아이슬란드가 엄청 그리워졌답니다. 빙하와 빛나는 요쿨살론 첫번째로 향한 요쿨살론(Jokulsarlon)은 아이슬란드의 대표적인 명소 중 하나랍니다. 영어로 Glacier lagoon 이라고도 하는데요. 방송에 나온 것처럼 눈 앞에 보이는 빙하는 빙하수가 흘러서 녹았다 얼었다를더 보기스코가포스 폭포부터 오로라까지, 꽃보다청춘 4화를 따라서
여행 5일째, 포스톤즈가 처음으로 향한 곳은 아이슬란드 남부에 있는 스코가포스 폭포(skogasfoss)입니다. 아이슬란드 남부의 대표적인 폭포 중 하나에요. 방송에서는 들르지 않았지만 스코가포스 거의 바로 옆에 위치한 셀리야란드스포스(seljalandsfoss) 폭포와 함께 같이 들르곤 한답니다. 스코가포스 폭포는 폭포의 물줄기 끝까지 올라갈 수 있단더 보기꽃청춘을 따라서
요즘 인기리에 방영되고 있는 꽃보다 청춘 아이슬란드편! 저도 매주 빼놓지 않고 시청하고 있습니다. 많은 분들께서 포스톤즈의 발랄한 매력과 아이슬란드의 놀라운 경치에 빠져드셨을 것 같습니다! 이번에는 꽃보다 청춘을 따라서 아이슬란드를 한번 가보도록 해요! 사실 아이슬란드가 한국에서 그렇게 가기 쉬운 나라는 아닙니다. 거리도 멀고 항공권도 비싸고! 우더 보기
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