The South Coast
We woke up to some bad news that morning. Vedur.is had issued a strong alert concerning rivers in the South, especially in the Lakagigar region, which had experienced significant rain in recent days. It was in sum not recommended to drive to Laki... After dealing with this disappointment, we readjusted our program for the day, which, as you understood, was to go all the way to the famous crater.
Instead, we took the road to Jökularlon and stopped along Road 1 near the first glacier: Svinafell. The road to Svinafell was quite short, only 2 km long, and a pleasant drive. Here, we parked the Duster and after a short 20-minute walk approached the glacier which was absolutely magnificent.
Further on, as we approached Jökularlon, a sign clearly indicated Fjallsarlon where a huge car park was also under construction. From the car park, a short walk of 15 minutes allowed us to reach the lagoon, which was simply incredible!
Fjallsarlon is truly extraordinary, the perfect silence only broken by the sound of icebergs colliding and the few large skates flying overhead.
5 km from there, we decided to park and have a lunch picnic in Jökularlon, an unforgettable meal watching the icebergs slow dance!
The place was magical, and there were a lot of tourists but everyone seemed to respect the peace and quiet of the area. We wandered along the banks for a while before heading back to the 206...
Indeed, we still took Road 206 because even if it was not recommended to go to Laki, there were still 2 other points of interest on this route: Fagrifoss and Fjaðrárgljúfur. Fjaðrárgljúfur is very close to Road 1 and accessible to a conventional vehicle.
Two routes were possible: the first took you to the canyon from the bottom where you can hike up a small path on foot to reach the most interesting viewpoints, while the second route continues 2 km down the road to the top of the canyon. Here, there was also a small parking lot, and a path led to the cliff-side which was quite impressive.
I hadn't necessarily read much about the place or even seen photos, but this was one of our top memories of the trip; the canyon was magnificent, the colors and contrasts were incredible. Such a great experience! A small path along the cliff of the canyon took us back down to the first parking lot near the water. Driving down the 206 was really beautiful with the bright green grass along the track.
We hit the road again in the direction of Fagrifoss. The trail took 45 minutes because the condition of the road was very bumpy, now reserved for 4x4 vehicles as indicated on the signs we passed. We then had to cross 2 fords to reach the waterfall.
The first one was easy and the second, 500 meters from the waterfall, had quite a bit of power and a good 30 centimeters in depth, but the water was clear and the Duster handled it well. Fagrifoss was far more impressive than I had imagined from the various photos I had seen, much taller than I expected.
On the way back, we stopped in Vik to take a short walk on the black sand beaches, then to Reynisfjara to enjoy dinner at the Black Beach Restaurant while watching an unforgettable sunset over Reynisdrangar. We stayed on the beach for a long time after dinner to enjoy the sun dancing over the rough seas.
We returned to Skogar around 9:30PM, quite happy with our day that we re-planned at the last minute.
