Last Updated on June 24, 2019 by PowersToTravel
Skaftafell National Park is on a headland that protrudes between two glacial arms reaching eastward on the east coast of Iceland. There are beautiful views of mountains and glacier as you travel on Rt 1 towards the park from the south, but once you arrive in the park, the glaciers become elusive. It requires significant hiking effort to get near them. That said, it is a splendid location for hiking. There are many hikes, all UP.
The first day we decided to hike to Svartifoss (Black Falls) which is a beautiful falls cascading over black basalt columns into a bowl. We parked at the far end of the campground (left/west), and headed straight up. It was a fine trail, except that after twenty minutes of hard labor, we realized that there was a road paralleling us. Why were we struggling up the hill, when there was a road?
We eventually turned right (east), crossed a bridge and found ourselves on a sloping alpine headland. We were still headed UP, but now the path became wider, and not lined with small birches, so there were no roots to trip over. We arrived at a viewpoint where we could see the falls in the distance, and then traveled down to the falls.
It is a lovely spot, with a bridge over the stream and plenty of room for hikers to find various spots to relax. However, the weather was simply gray. We spent a long time taking Gray pictures.
That is, a Long Time. This trip was made with my parents, photographers. Did I mention that with photographers the concept of time is fluid? No matter.
We eventually returned down the hill, found our car and returned to our cottage at Horgsland in Kirkjubaejarklauster, a significant drive south. Say Kir-kju-bae-jar-klau-ster three times fast. (We stayed at Horgsland and were quite happy there.)
The weather the next day was forecasted to be rain, so we went grocery shopping (naturally), and thought we might head south, because the weather maps looked better to the south. But, at the crossroads, after the grocery, we looked North, and South, and said, “What the heck, it looks better to the North.” So we headed back to Skaftafell. We arrived at the park, and discovered a bit of blue sky. We decided to hike once more.
From the campground we headed the opposite direction, that is, northeast (to the right) to skirt the side of the headland, heading steadily upwards on a rocky, rooted, muddy path. Of course, when we started we didn’t know the condition of the trail, or we might not have attempted it. We did not get great views from the trail because we were required to focus all our energy on not tripping. All our limbs were involved – grabbing onto trees, rocks as we scrambled up and down the undulating, but upwards, path. Once we got through the woodland we hiked straight up over the headland and arrived on an alpine plateau with beautiful views to the glaciers above the headland.
Unfortunately, that is when it started to rain. I was at least prepared with precip pants, waterproof jacket and hiking boots. Mom was prepared because I had insisted I pack my spare Gortex pants for her in my backpack. With her Gortex jacket she was all set. Dad, on the other hand, was of the opinion that sticking a Hefty bag over his head and shoulders would do the trick. Mom and I assaulted him, forced him to wear his short slicker, and covered his camera bag with the Hefty bag.
By the time this was complete we realized, ‘It’s not raining – it’s sleeting!’ We struggled up the path, thinking, well, there are no trees, no large rocks, nothing at all for shelter, so we might as well continue. We arrived at a beautiful view of the glacier.
We huddled on the tundra. I ate a granola bar, and Mom and Dad snuck their cameras out in the sleet to take pictures. After about five minutes of this, another party came down from higher on the plateau. One man was carrying a large ‘brolly’. With all of the Gortex and hi-tech hiking boots in the area, he was funny-looking, but at least he was dry.
Unfortunately we weren’t dry for long, as the sleet had hit us just as we arrived up on the plateau, so we were hot and sweaty from the climb, and then had put on our waterproof coverings. So, we were dry from the sleet, but not from our own sweat. The wind was blowing and it was cold. Dad especially was cold because he was wearing non-protective pants and ventilating sneakers.
We decided to head back. The storm passed by and it stopped raining. It seemed a lot shorter going back, although rather treacherous on some of the rock-and-rooty sections because instead of slight mud, there was MUD.
On our way back south, in the car, we once again passed through the storm (we were dry this time!), and the winds were ferocious. (The next day heading north, we saw other headlands, with snow sprinkled on the top, and said, ‘Well, that was us, yesterday!).
It was once again supposed to rain this third day, but as we headed north to the park, the sun once again popped out. It is true that the park has the best weather of the east coast. Well, we had learned our lesson. No three hour hikes that start out Blue and end up Wet.
Presented with the beautiful blue skies, we decided to return to Svartifoss. This time we decided to take the road up, rather than hike. At the entrance to the road, there was a sign announcing ‘B&B traffic only.’ Not ones to let a rule stop us, we continued up the hill in the car, parking it near the trailhead that led over the river towards the alpine headland. We hiked up to the falls, and this time, they were beautiful.
We spent time photographing, and then decided to head on over a different path for an alternate way down. It was another haul up another headland. It had turned rather cold. We stood there on this alpine meadow, wondering, ‘what is up over that next hill’? Mom and I wondered but took no action. Dad trekked ahead, and trekked back. ‘Just another hill’.
We headed back down to our car. (No parking violation sticker!). It was the end of an exhausting but thoroughly satisfying trip to Iceland’s premier national park. (It is not hard to be premier since I believe there are only three!).
Lessons Learned
The several trips back and forth between Horgsland and the park fatigued us. I took to heart that lesson learned with my parents. I later visited Iceland and Skaftafell, in 2014, with my new husband. Greg and I stayed at Horgsland one night, since I knew we would enjoy the cabin, but stayed at Hotel Skaftafell the next, to reduce the number of miles traveled. Of course the hotel was more expensive. Greg isn’t one to want to drive the same road multiple times. My parents don’t mind, because they are photographers – the light or weather might be different so there’s no frustration in doing the same route. Greg is not a photographer. But I am so happy he is the driver!
Diabetic Travel Tips
There is a hotel and gas station with a convenience store near the entrance road to the park. The trails are all UP which mean you will require more energy than you might expect simply looking at trail maps.
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Check out this article of mine too:
Iceland Travel Blog – Itinerary, Lessons Learned and Diabetic Tips
