We'll journey along Iceland's South Coast and reach our final destination, Skaftafell National Park, a Nature Reserve since 1967.
While travelling from Reykjavík to Skaftafell we will pause to admire some of Iceland's stunning landscapes, including iconic waterfalls like Seljalandsfoss and Skógafoss, or consider visting the Black sand beach (Reynisfjara).
Upon arrival of Skaftafell we will see the spectacular view of the outlet glaciers. Glaciers in Iceland are among the greatest natural wonder in the world. Ice caps cover a total of 11% of Iceland land area. The biggest glaciers are Vatnajökull, Langjökull, Höfsjökull and Mýrdalsjökull.
Glacier forms only in places where fresh snow never fully melts, up on mountains or in the highland. It gradually compresses into ice under its own weight. A process which takes centuries. Outlet glacier are like a frozen river which slowly moves forward towards the edges, down hills towards the lowland.
Skaftafell is a kind of a pearl or a natural wonder in between the biggest outlet glacier in Iceland. In Skaftafell we can take a short and easy hiking tour. We propose two hiking options, one to a waterfall named Svartifoss (moderate) and the other one flat and easy hiking trail toward the outlet glacier Skaftafellsjökull.
Svartifoss: One of the two option is a 45-minute hiking tour, (each way) which is one of the most beautiful waterfall in Iceland. The waterfall is perhaps not the biggest in Iceland, but its surroundings are spectacular. Located in front of basalt columns, makes this place special.
Skaftafellsjökull: the other two options are short hiking tour to see the spectacular glacier close up.
Filmmakers selected Svinafellsjökull a nearby outlet glacier, as an ideal location for film setting. These include Batman Begins, James Bond, "Die Another Day" and Season 7 of the TV series Games of thrones. Lesser know films, including Kung Fu Yoga featuring Jackie Chan and “Interstellar” portraying the Ice Planet, have utilized the location for filming.
