Iceland Day 1: Waterfalls and Plane Crashes
Arrive at Keflavik International Airport, head east to begin your road trip!
My friend and I arrived on separate planes and met at the airport. We headed to our Alamo car rental and began our adventure. Pro tip: get ALL of the insurance- there are crazy roads, potholes, debris, rocks, etc that may damage your car. Of course, be as careful and respectful as possible, but I recommend getting all of the insurance as well.
We attempted to visit The Cliffs at Krysuvikurbjarg, but somehow missed them- probably because we were too distracted by the scenic drive! Iceland is unreal. My photos may do it some justice, but their nature is so astoundingly beautiful, it is hard to match seeing it in person.
From my journal, “We drove along ground that looked like someone had punched it from below- highly textured rocks rose in cracked mounds and crevices. The rocks were dark black/gray with pale green moss. Beautiful.”
The mountains were also incredibly dramatic. I made my friend pull over repeatedly so I could shoot some photos and just generally gape at the landscapes.
We also encountered a black sand beach!
Hiking at Seljalandsfoss and Gljúfrafoss
About 3 hours away from the airport is Seljalandsfoss and Gljúfrafoss (‘-foss’ indicates a waterfall in Icelandic). These are two amazing waterfalls at one parking location. Seljalandsfoss is first. It flows over a concave cliff; you can walk behind it! The cave is misty, depending on wind direction, but it is beautiful and easily accessible.
Further down the trail is a canyon that hosts Gljúfrafoss. We brought water shoes to walk through shallow water to get to the waterfall. However wet you get; it’s totally worth it. The waterfall pours water over the very end of the canyon. It roars and echoes everywhere which is incredibly beautiful- acoustically and visually.
No Swimming at the Seljavallalaug Swimming Pool
We next drove to an iconic photo spot (per the blog linked here)- the Seljavallalaug Swimming Pool, but it was full of gross water, mobbed by tourists, and honestly is the least beautiful thing in this area. The green valley surrounding it was outstanding and I recommend seeing the pool and then walking around this area a bit more. Save your swimming for a hot spring with sanitary, flowing water.
Ah, the scenery was much better without all the people (rather, just me ;) ).
A Lengthy Walk to the Sólheimasandur Plane Wreck
Another tourist hot spot that is an absolute waste of time in my opinion. We all took planes to Iceland, why do you need to see another? Wait a few days, you’ll se a plane- with all of it’s seats, tray tables, and overhead compartments- in a few days on your ride home!
It was a LONG walk. Way too long. Then the Sólheimasandur Wreck was swarmed with people and, if you may have noticed, I like to avoid capturing people in my photos.
If you like planes, maybe hit this spot, otherwise, there are so many other beautiful landscapes in Iceland to tour, don’t waste hours of your time on this regular looking, unlucky plane. Just watch it’s feature in this Justin Bieber music video.
Skogafoss Waterfall- Accessible and Impressive!
This beauty was wide and tall! Conveniently, Skogafoss Waterfall was also located next to our hostel, the Skogar Hostel (which was great until the power went out). I wish we had seen this waterfall on a sunny day, but here’s just another reason to return!
You can get excitingly close to this waterfall’s bottom and there are also routes to view the waterfall from the top of the falls.
