Fjaðrárgljúfur

No tourist knows how to pronounce the name. Still, Fjaðrárgljúfur is a famous green canyon in Iceland. The Fjaðrá River flows through an extremely rugged landscape. The gorge is about two kilometres long and reachable on foot. The rocks are about 100 meters high. You can also see several waterfalls due to the height differences. A visit to the Fjaðrárgljúfur gorge is one of the highlights of your tour.

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Once you see the pictures you will understand. Although there is also a chance that you know this landscape from the music video for Justin Bieber's song I'll Show You. His video clip resulted in a sharp increase in visitors to the canyon. As a result, the gorge had to be closed for a few months to limit further damage. A footpath has now been constructed so that no further erosion can occur.

You will see strikingly steep rocks at a river that meanders through the landscape. The rocks are dark, with green vegetation. The landscape is different around every corner, making it perfect for hiking as an excursion.

When you arrive, stop and oversee the landscape at the entrance. It immediately gives you a good idea of what to expect. This is already one of the best places for a photo. Just wait and see; you will see that this setting is often used online or in publications. So don't walk passed it too quickly, but enjoy the view.

The Fjadrargljufur waterfall is very beautiful. The hiking trail takes you to the waterfall. You can only view it from above, but that is very impressive. The water meanders between the rocks. Perfect for pictures.

You have several options. Recently, the government of Iceland has created a hiking trail over the rocks. With several viewpoints. This path is about 2 kilometres long. Parts of the canyon have also been closed off to protect nature. 

For a long time, you could also walk through the river. Where you had to partially wade when the water was a bit higher. This was not dangerous. In fact, it was a wonderful adventure. Although the water is very cold. You will find the latest information about the possibilities on site. 

In the spring and part of the summer, the grass is green. And so you see the dark rocks with green vegetation. In the autumn the grass turns brown. Which makes the atmosphere in the gorge a lot grimmer. And photographers will come especially for that moment. In winter, the gorge is often difficult to access, but it does make for spectacular photos with snow and ice.

Geologists have discovered that Fjaðrárgljúfur Canyon arose in a special way. The layer of rocks consists of soft rock, but also hard magma. After the last ice age about 9,000 years ago, Iceland became warmer. Thus a large lake was created at the beginning of the gorge. The water that fell over the edge ran into the chasm, and scoured away so much soft sand. But the walls of the lake broke, sending a great torrent of water through the canyon. It slowly sanded out the chasm. If you walk around the canyon you can see with how much force it must have happened.

This green gorge is located about 6 km west of the town of Kirkjubæjarklaustur. It is about 250 kilometres from Reykjavik. The place is easy to reach. Follow the road to Laki and keep left when you see Holtsvegur. Then you will automatically see the parking lot.