A Drive along the Atlantic Ocean in South Iceland [Part 10]

It's time to finish up our road trip through the wilderness of Iceland. After this post we will arrive in Icelands capital city Reykjavik, where we spend the last two days of our trip. But before we head into civilization, we will explore the wild and beautiful nature of the northern gem one more time. This last stretch of our drive took us along the Atlantic Ocean in South Iceland. There are many sights worth exploring here. I will show you three: the Reynisfjara black beach and Skogafoss and Seljalandsfloss waterfalls. The last waterfall we saw was special, because you can walk behind it. I hope you will enjoy this penultimate post from our Iceland travel series. The next post is the big finale from Reykjavik!

This is only a part of our big travel series to Iceland

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Here is our drive along the Atlantic Ocean in South Iceland on this day:



The drive from Svratifoss waterfall took us along many black landscapes. Black mostly because of the volcanic stones that are dominating Iceland in these parts. A black beach suddenly becomes a common sight, though looking back I am amazed at the natural beauty.

Reynisfjara  Black Beach

Reynisdrangar are basalt sea stacks situated under the mountain Reynisfjall near the village Vík, which is framed by a black sand beach that was ranked in 1991 as one of the ten most beautiful non-tropical beaches in the world. Legend says that the stacks originated when two trolls dragged a three-masted ship to land unsuccessfully and when daylight broke they became needles of rock.

Contemporary legends note the story of a husband who found his wife taken by the two trolls, frozen at night. The husband made the two trolls swear to never kill anyone ever again. His wife was the love of his life, whose free spirit he was unable to provide a home for; she found her fate out among the trolls, rocks, and sea at Reynisfjara.

Skogafoss Waterfall

The Skógafoss is one of the biggest waterfalls in the country with a width of 15 metres (49 feet) and a drop of 60 m (200 ft). Due to the amount of spray the waterfall consistently produces, a single or double rainbow is normally visible on sunny days. Of course when we were there it was a moody day. But since we had seen so many rainbows before, we didin't mind.

According to legend, the first Viking settler in the area, Þrasi Þórólfsson, buried a treasure in a cave behind the waterfall. Though there are caves behind the waterfall you can really access them. The legend says that locals found the chest years later, but were only able to grasp the ring on the side of the chest before it disappeared again.

Seljalandsfoss Waterfall

This waterfall was very special to us. It was the first time where got up close and even walked behind the waterfall. Seljalandsfoss is located in the South Region in Iceland right by Route 1 and the road that leads to Þórsmörk Road 249. The waterfall drops 60 m (197 ft) and is part of the Seljalands River that has its origin in the volcano glacier Eyjafjallajökull.

Arriving in Hella

We spent the last night before Reykjavik in the small town Hella. As with all cities except Reykjavik and Akruyeri here isn't much to do at night there. But even if there were we wouldn't have been able to. As you can see in the image above, I was dead tired. We relaxed in our AirBnb apartment, made dinner and ate.

I took one last shot out of the window before heading into bed. The wast landscapes of Iceland were engulfed by the blackness of the night. A few streetlights are showing the way into the dark abyss. We finished an amazing road trip around Iceland, and it was time to head into the capital for one final time.

End of Part Ten

To be continued...

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