EAST ICELAND
East Iceland covers a varied region of broad river valleys, boggy plateaus surrounding the Vatnajökull icecap, and a dramatic coastline forming the East Fjords. The main centres are Egilsstaðir, on the shores of Lögurinn lake, and Höfn, a springboard for Vatnajökull National Park. Visiting smaller communities such as Vopnafjörður, Borgarfjörður Eystri and Seyðisfjörður provides insight into daily life here, while rewarding side trips include Papey island and Kárahnjúkar hydro dam.
1. Hallormsstaður
Hallormsstaður sits beside Iceland’s most extensive forest, grown since the 1900s for recreational use and for timber. A web of wooded walking trails heads up the valley slopes, while a roadside Forestry Office has a small arboretum with 40 tree species, including Iceland’s tallest, a 22-m- (62-ft-) high larch.
2. Egilsstaðir
Summer-only buses from Akureyri and Reykjavík via Höfn; airport open year-round • East Iceland Heritage Museum: check website for opening times; www.minjasafn.is/english; adm • Wilderness Center: www.wilderness.is
Just east of Lögurinn lake, Egilsstaðir’s attractions include the East Iceland Heritage Museum, which features a baðstofa (the living room of a turf house), and the Wilderness Center – a hotel within a museum celebrating how Icelanders have survived in this difficult environment. The 70-km (44-mile) drive around Lögurinn takes in saga sites, woodlands and one of Iceland’s tallest waterfalls.
3. Skriðuklaustur
471 2990 • Open May–Sep: 11am–5pm daily; Oct–Apr: open occasionally, call in advance • www.skriduklaustur.is
This imposing villa belonging to author Gunnar Gunnarsson (1889–1975) sits on Lögurinn’s western shore, close to the church at Valþjófsstaður and Hengifoss. Gunnarsson’s first novel, Af Borgslægtens Historie, was filmed here in 1919. Besides being a Visitor Centre for Vatnajökull National Park, the villa hosts exhibitions about the author and the ruins of a 16th century monastery found nearby. The attached Klausturkaffi offers lunch and a buffet of homemade cakes.
4. Vatnajökull National Park
The bulk of Europe’s largest national park surrounds the Vatnajökull icecap, whose fringes are 100 km (62 miles) southwest of Egilsstaðir or 10 km (6 miles) northwest of Höfn. In the vicinity of Skaftafell and Höfn, and easily accessible from the ring road, various glacier outlets crawl down to the lowland. Lakes have formed in front of most of these ice tongues making them especially picturesque. Various activities, such as glacier walks and snowmobile tours are offered in the area south of Vatnajökull.
5. Borgafjörður Eystri (Bakkagerði)
Part of the fun of visiting Borgafjörður Eystri, the East Fjords’ most endearing settlement, is the journey via the Héraðsflói estuary’s grassy lagoons and steep ranges that isolate the village. On arrival you will find a tiny community backed by the jagged Dyrfjöll mountain, with sights including a little hummock near the church named Álfaborg, home to Iceland’s fairy queen (according to folklore), and a sizable puffin colony overlooking the fishing harbour. Superb, lengthy hiking trails lead south to Seyðisfjörður.
6. Seyðisfjörður
Seyðisfjörður’s charm lies in its steep fjord setting and 19th-century wooden architecture near the harbour. The church, several houses and two hotels are the pick, most painted in pastel hues and originally imported from Norway. An important naval station during World War II and a herring port before then, today Seyðisfjörður is linked to Norway
by the Norröna ferry, which visits weekly in summer via the Faroe Islands and Denmark.
7. Mjóifjörður
A long, thin inlet accessed by the gravel Route 953, Mjóifjörður (“Narrow Fjord”) is worth the bumpy drive to Brekka village and the remote lighthouse at Dalatangi. The road between the shoreline and steep mountains offers some close-ups of beautiful streams and cascades, plus the chance of seeing the Arctic fox, which is more at ease with humans in this remote area.
8. Vopnafjörður
If you are making the long coastal drive along Route 85 from Húsavík towards Egilsstaðir, set aside an hour for Vopnafjörður, a small town built on a steep prong of land. It has a museum detailing the plight of local communities following the 1875 eruption of Víti at Askja. An outdoor geothermal pool at Selárdalur and Bustarfell’s immaculate collection of old turf farmhouses (see Valþjófsstaður) are located close by.
9. Papey
The ferry ride to Papey is one of the highlights of East Iceland, taking in rock ledges full of snoozing seals and seabirds flapping out of the way of boats, before reaching the small, grass-topped island, thought to have been inhabited by monks before the Vikings arrived (see Papey).
10. Höfn
Year-round buses to Reykjavík and summer services to Egilsstaðir; airport open year-round
Höfn started life as a warehouse during the 1860s, and developed into a small working port. It is a good base for trips to Vatnajökull National Park. The Glacier Exhibition fills you in on the area and you can book Skidoo trips and Jeep tours to the icecap. Hikers can aim for Lónsöræfi reserve. For glacier views, head for the landmark statue on the shore – avoiding the Arctic tern colony.
HÉRAÐSFLÓI’S BIRDLIFE
Héraðsflói – a broad bay with a black-sand beach and boggy meadows inland along the myriad of streamlets of the Jökulsá á Brú river – makes a superb place for observing birdlife. Look for marine ducks (including the long-tailed or old squaw and scoter), godwits, red-throated divers and even hobbys, Iceland’s smallest bird of prey.
A DAY IN EAST ICELAND
Morning
Before starting this 70-km (44-mile) circuit of Lögurinn lake and the Lagarfljót valley, climb the hillock behind the Menntaskólinn school in Egilsstaðir for a view of the region – on a clear day you can see as far as Snæfell, Iceland’s highest free-standing peak. Then head south, branching off the highway onto Route 931, past fields full of sheep and Icelandic horses, until a surprising amount of woodland begins to spring up around Hallormsstaður, where you can explore walking tracks or the Forestry Office’s arboretum, or take in lakeside views at Atlavík. Exiting the woods past Atlavík, the main road crosses the lake to Lögurinn’s west shore, where you turn left and drive some distance to Skriðuklaustur.
Afternoon
After having a snack at Skriðuklaustur’s café, Klausturkaffi, and visiting the National Park exhibition, continue south to Valþófsstaður church with its reproduction of carved Viking doors, then retrace your route back past Skriðuklaustur to where the 60-km- (37-mile-) long Route 910 ascends to moorlands around Snæfell and the Kárahnjúkar Hydro Dam. You need 3 hours for this round trip, otherwise follow an hour-long walking track uphill to Hengifoss after parking your car. Stay on the western shore for the drive back to Egilsstaðir.
