We made Fjaðrárgljúfur canyon our first stop of the day. Unfortunately for us, it was a grey sky that morning. Getting there was a bit tricky. We found that road signs were lacking and had almost missed the turn into route 206. From route 1 (the main road around Iceland), the path to the canyon was a dirt road so the 4W drive we had was definitely necessary. While our stop at Fjaðrárgljúfur was a brief one, the canyon was worth the stop. It was beautiful!
We wanted to walk along the river bank for a distance but that was not possible. Some parts were accessible but that would not led very far before we had to wade through the water. The river was not entirely shallow and I wasn’t keen to have my feet wet first thing in the morning in icy cold water. We did see a couple walking back, crossing parts of the river without shoes but they didn’t look like they were having fun. So we abandoned that thought and walked the path along the cliff instead.
The walk was short – at least, the stretch that covered the canyon was short. The walking path led on into the wilderness for as far as the eye could see. I reckon we could have continued walking for a day following the path if we hadn’t had a schedule to keep. Nonetheless, this walk was easy to do. In fact, shortly after we started, a tour bus arrived and many elderly tourists started making the same walk we were making. The path was a gradual uphill climb with short turn offs to get closer to the edge. Many people taking pictures everywhere and a couple were even taking 360º photos.
Even from the cliff, we could tell that the water was crystal clear! If we had not planned our trip with Airbnb, we would have definitely spent more time at Fjaðrárgljúfur canyon. It was truly impressive, magnificant and definitely worth a visit if time permits.
As a side note, camping here is not allowed. We had thought of camping on the river bank, which is probably not the best idea cause a heavy downpour would have enlarged the river and flood our tent. It’s a romantic idea though but there were signs in the canyon indicating no camping.
Note: This trip took place in the last 2 weeks of June 2016.
Belosophy 