Iceland – and there were supposed to be only waterfalls…, on the way to Vik

Do you know what else is fantastic about Iceland? That the trip itself and the landscapes along the way quietly deserve a separate entry :) We’ve already seen the Golden Circle attractions (although we’ll still return to this area, but more on that later) so now it’s time to head to the east of the island.

We planned to go all the way around, and the first town with an overnight stay was to be Vik. We knew that there were a few beautiful waterfalls waiting for us along the way, but it turned out that there were many more places worthy of attention, so it was good that we had some time in reserve.

Road to Vik

After the Golden Circle, we returned to Road 1 (the so-called Ring Road around Iceland) and headed toward the town of Vik.

At first, the weather was not spoiling (what a novelty!), so we could not really enjoy the views through the car windows. We passed the villages of Hella and Hvalvollur and a large massif emerged in front of us, and on its slope the first waterfall – Seljalandsfoss.

It is one of the most popular waterfalls in Iceland – 60m high, falling from a cliff that used to be the shoreline. The waterfall can be seen from a distance, from the road number 1, but it’s worth pulling the car over to the parking lot and walking closer, or even very close, because a special path behind the waterfall is prepared for tourists, so you can see it thoroughly from all sides! :)

Even if you hit nicer weather than we did, be sure to bring rain jackets or umbrellas – it’s hard not to come out wet from under the waterfall. Of course, you also have to be careful, because the rocks are very slippery. Also, be careful with the equipment so that it doesn’t get too wet :)

Eyjafjallajökull means“ejafjuylajokll” ; -)

Remember the famous volcano that immobilized all of Europe in 2010? It was called Eyjafjallajökull (despite many studies and attempts, we still can’t pronounce it right) and is located on the route to Vik. It is at its base that Seljalandsfoss and another waterfall, Skógafoss, are located. And the volcano itself? We believe it’s still there, because we didn’t get to see it in all its glory – the most important thing is that it slept politely and wasn’t disturbed.

The aforementioned Skógafoss is located on the other side of the volcano. As with the first one, here too we can drive very close by car, but instead of going behind the waterfall, we can look at it from above. There is a groomed path on the side that can be approached quite high, although I still think the waterfalls are most impressive from below, when you can feel and hear that water power.

Do you also see a face here? :)

There is a campground, hostel and bar in the area, so you can spend the night at the foot of the waterfall. Until our camera itself wanted to stay here ;)

The waterfall itself is of similar height to Seljalandsfoss (62m), but is wider (25m). The surrounding greenery gives it a special character even when the weather is not so good.

Plane wreck in Iceland

It turns out that there are still some picturesque sights and attractions to see before Vik. One of them is the wreckage of an American plane that made an emergency landing on the beach. The plane’s crew was not hurt, but the machine was abandoned on the black sand. This is an unofficial attraction – look in vain for signposts or signs directing you to this place. We were asking other people how to find the place, because we naively believed that we would see the wreck from Route 1. Forget it! There are about 4 km to the wreck itself, so there is no chance.

How to get there?

In general, if you are driving from the west, you will pass road 221 to the Sólheimajökull glacier on the left, immediately afterwards a bridge and on the right should be a gate with a gravel road (2 km from the exit to road 221). If you are not the first, there should already be single cars standing there, which should not go any further (the road is only for 4×4 vehicles). We our little Swift left and found that we would take a walk (why risk it?).

Along the way, of course, we were passed by a lot of cars, even small ones that bravely managed. Now we probably would have decided to go, because the road was passable, but only in good weather conditions. The road itself was very monotonous. We walked for a long time, no one around, and the wreck was not visible at all. The views for that are cool: desert, black desert.

After about 40 minutes, we reached the cars, and soon afterwards the wreckage of the plane. There is not much left of it, but the contrast itself is interesting: dark sand and light aircraft (or rather, its remains). Anyway, see for yourself.

Our “bouncer” could not be missed either ;)

The return for that was a pleasure. We decided to hitchhike ;) We were taken in by a very friendly American couple, and the whole journey took about 10 minutes. We were very surprised by their openness and helpfulness. Of course, we exchanged various tips, we also gave them our map where we marked interesting things to see on their route, and we finally found out where to see the famous Icelandic puffins!

A quick warm tea waiting for us in the car and on our way!

Puffins (puffins) in Iceland

The puffin, or maskonur in our language, is almost a symbol of Iceland – they are everywhere: on postcards, T-shirts, posters. As soon as there was an opportunity to see them we decided to take advantage :) In addition, there is the Dyrhólaey viewpoint – cliffs as high as 120 meters, with a door/hole to which they owe their name. Almost to the cliffs themselves you can drive a car, which we did, but unfortunately the weather forced us to turn back quickly. Fortunately, we managed to see the first maskonur :)

Nearby there are also other rock formations – spires protruding from the water, which have become a symbol of Viku. They are reached by road 215 from Viku. We reach the beach with black sand and here power awaits :)

1) View of Dyrhólaey.

2) Soft black sand, black stones, and, well, icy water.

3) Reynisdrangar – that is, the basalt spires protruding from the water that are almost 70 meters high.

4) There are also interesting rock formations on the beach itself – basalt columns.

5) Masconurs! Lots of maskonur! We even came across a tour of Asians who hunt birds in the far north, and since they were here, it means that this is really a common place for these birds.

6) The surroundings themselves are also no less interesting :)

From interesting facts: in 1991 this beach(Reynisfjara Beach) was recognized as the most beautiful non-tropical beach :) Beach like a beach, only the beachgoers are missing one would like to say…. In the water you will find only the mentioned puffins ;)

Our destination – Vik

We had an overnight stay in the aforementioned Vik. It is a town with a dizzying population of 300 people. A small Icelandic town with everything you need: there is a store where you can replenish your supplies, a hospital, a church, a station, a swimming pool of course and even a few bars.

We were already extremely hungry (all day on sandwiches), so we decided to go to the recommended pub in the “center”. The place was packed with people, and to sit at a table you had to take a number from the bar and wait to be called. Of course, such situations are used to make international friends, so in the process we learned a lot about other tours and places in the area.

Once we were able to take our seats we were struck by two things: selection and prices. It was our first decent meal in an Icelandic pub, so we didn’t know quite what awaited us…. Look in vain for specialties of Icelandic cuisine – burgers and pizzas reign supreme, and there will also be fish. And then there are the prices – yes, you have to admit that these were the most expensive lunches/dinners we’ve had so far (soup about 30-40 PLN, burgers about 50 PLN).

Fortunately, during the trip we also managed to find more traditional food, but expect a separate post about that and Icelandic pubs in general :)

As a consolation, in the house where we stayed for one night there was a small treat waiting for us: Icelandic vodka and pieces of shark :) We won’t become gourmets, but it’s good to finally try something you don’t have every day in Poland.

You can find the rest of our trip around Iceland here!

We also invite you to visit our gallery from the trip to Vik:

Zobacz galerię wszystkich zdjęć >>>

We also recommend our post on the TOP 10 attractions in Iceland and our practical summary of a trip to Iceland.