Iceland 2024 Part 4. - Snaefellsnes and West Coast

Thank you for your virtual travel patience, and now we were on the home stretch back towards Iceland’s capital city of Reykjavik, before our departure back to London on our way back home.

Below is the route map for our final section(s) of travel in Iceland.

The final section of our road trip is in red

Snaefellsnes

Snaefellsnes is a peninsular on the west of Iceland surprised us, due to the range of continuing scenery on offer, including one of the most photographed mountains in Iceland and yes, the fosses continued.

One of the views whilst driving out along the Snaefellsnes peninsular

As a side note, the Snaefellsnes area was where Eric the Red lived and also became the first person to settle on Greenland.  His son Leif Erickson was also one of the first Europeans to reach North America.

We were able to get up close and personal to a dormant (hopefully) volcano called Grabrok and after climbing up to its rim with its dark gritty surface, we were able to look via the crater to yet another smaller volcano nearby.

Standing on top of the dormant crater of Grabok volcano

Smaller crater viewed from atop Grabok

One of the benefits of all the volcanic activity in Iceland beyond geothermal power generation, are those same small hard gritty rocks which are abundant everywhere, they are used as a robust base material when making and repairing their roads.

We simply enjoyed exploring down some remote dirt roads around lakes going deeper into the Berserkjahraun lava field, the continued presence of mountains providing wonderful reflections to admire, especially with the still waters and no other sounds to disrupt us.

Driving around within the Berserkjahraun lava fields visible to the left

Reflections we enjoyed during the Berserkjahraun lava field wander

Finally we reached ‘the mountain’… Kirkjufell, also known as the church mountain, 463 metres high and near the town of Grundarfjörður, and was used in seasons 6 & 7 of Game of Thrones.

Kirkjufell from a distance but there was better to come

It is regarded as the most photographed mountain in Iceland, so it shouldn’t have been a surprise to see 2 large cruise liners berthed near the town and hordes of people walking towards the mountain.

‘Great’ we thought, this is going to make it tricky to get photos without crowds of people in them, so once we got there, we broke some ‘rope rules’ by climbing over them and clambering down to where the water was falling from the waterfall Kirkjufellsfoss, beautifully positioned with the mountain in the background.

Kirkjufellsfoss and Kirkjufell together

Just another view of Kirkjufellsfoss

The water from the falls then flowed further along the stream, reaching the ocean beyond.

Naturally there were still more fosses further on like Svodufoss which included some more basalt columns next to the falling water.

Svodufoss and its basalt columns

But in Snaefellsnes it wasn’t all mountains and fosses as we reached the western tip of this area and approached the Lóndrangar basalt cliffs, with its large sea stacks and lighthouse in the distance.

The cliffs and sea stacks of Londranger

Whilst still hugging the coastline, next was a stop and coast walk from the small Arnarstapi fishing village to view the formations along the cliffs. Some of the buildings in the village date back to the 1770’s when Captain Cook was first visiting Australia.

Coastal views near Arnarstapi

Old homes in Arnarstapi

People walking over the coastal
formations near Arnarstapi

The variation in things to look at in this country just kept coming as we investigated a narrow canyon we had read about called Raudfeldsgja which involved a bit of a walk to reach, only to discover as we tried to enter it, there was ice still blocking the entrance a short distance in.

People walking towards the gap in
the cliff called Raudfeldsgja

Still frozen ice blocked the entrance to Raudfeldsgja

West Coast

At long last we managed to get close to the Icelandic horses as we ventured along the west coast back finally to Reykjavik.  These horses are smallish, friendly and very hardy plus are the original Viking settlement horses and one of the purest horse breeds in the world.

Icelandic horses

After a quick visit to yet another very active geothermal set of boiling pools called Deildartunguhver, this time where the hot springs provide very high flows of water at 100 celsius which is captured and used by heating plants to keep towns warm.

The geothermal activity throughout Iceland is
great for creating energy and keeping people warm

Hraunfossar came next and notice how ‘foss’ is contained within its name.  Hraunfossar are a series of waterfalls formed by rivulets which have travelled through nearby lava fields to reach the Hvita River.

The beauty of Hraunfossar

Closer view of section of Hraunfossar

Before finally returning to the capital, we detoured off the ring road to a town called Akranes, the 9^th most populous town in the country at 6,600.  Here there is a lighthouse built in 1947 and is the only one in Iceland regularly open to tourists.

The Akranes lighthouse

There were now only 2 things left to complete after nearly 2.5 weeks in this amazing country before departing.

First we had to try their national dish…

Hot dogs are regarded as a national dish in Iceland

…and then re-visit something we saw when we first came to Iceland, located next to the harbour in Reykjavik, which pays homage to the adventurous and sturdy people who settled this truly stunning country and made it home!

Artistic sculpture of a Viking ship on
shore of harbour in Reykjavik 

We were done and had enjoyed every bit of what we saw and experienced in Iceland and we hope if you have the slightest inkling of wanting to visit, just remember, “if you don’t go you don’t know”, you will love it no matter how much or little you see and experience.

CLICK HERE for more photos Iceland Part 4. - Snaefellsnes & West Coast

We also managed to take quite a bit of video whilst in Iceland so if you want to see some of that, well… but be warned… there are a few fosses in it!

CLICK HERE for VIDEO of Iceland 2024

Geripackers will return sometime in 2025 so take a break, enjoy life and go well!

Iceland 2024 Part 3. - North, North West and Westfjords

Will kick off again with a route map below covering the next section of Iceland.

The route in red is what is covered in this Iceland Part 3. post

North

By now we hope you have a better sense and feel of what makes up Iceland as we now venture across the northern sections of the island.

The northern areas of Iceland we travelled through felt more ‘tranquil’ than previous areas, possibly due to a longer history of less volcanic activity, giving the land more time to ‘soften’.

The fosses continued, first in the form of Godafoss, a broad waterfall we climbed down closer to for a better sense of its power.

A wide view of Godafoss waterfall

We climbed down to get a better feel of the power of Godafoss

Volcanic influenced formations along the banks near Godafoss

For a brief while we were experiencing a more inhabited area with the largish town of Akureyri being the temporary ‘home’ for some large-ish cruise liners and their passengers swarming around throughout the town.  Here they had a quaint way of reminding people to stop at red traffic lights.

2 cruise liners berthed at the town of Akureyri

Heart shaped stop sign to
say 'thanks you' for stopping

Old home in the historic section of Akureyri

There was also an old historic and very small timber church we visited called Grafarkirkja, which is the oldest of 6 remaining turf churches in Iceland, parts of it dating back to the 17^th century.

Grafarkirkja is located in the middle of nowhere

The setting for Grafarkirkja is captivating

Farmers and small communities are very remote in the northern parts of the country.

Small community located in the north of Iceland

Very remote home

North West

As we progressed further into the North West it was time for the fosses to return in the form of Reykjafoss located on private property and then an area called Kolugljufur which was a combination of a canyon with multiple fosses within it.

Reykjafoss is on private property

The people standing above the falls
provides a sense of the scale of Reykjafoss

One view of Kolugljufur and the bridge used to cross the canyon

Further along the canyon at Kolugljufur

There were also times we came across fosses up in the mountains with or without a name, but still very beautiful and worth a stop.

A small no name foss when crossing a mountain

This foss is called Gervidalsafoss

We needed to divert and bump our way back to the coast in search of a favourite location for photographers officially known as Hvitserkur but simply described as Elephant Rock, a single formation standing alone in the ocean.

The solitary rock formation of Hvitserkur
otherwise called 'Elephant Rock'

Closer view of Hvitserkur

As we had travelled through Iceland, we soon learned how hardy the people are, living and farming in very remote locations and quite often there is a Lutheran church located very close to each farm.  As a result, there are MANY little churches scattered around Iceland.

Look closely and you will see a small church located with the farm

A farm house and church is common through Iceland

West Fjords

We had now reached the West Fjords of Iceland and if you look at our route map below, you will see it pokes out by itself with its many fingers forming the fjords or alternatively looking like a big chunk of coral.

Closer view of the route we drove within the Westfjords area

This is where we were well off the ring road and doing a lot of driving around the edges of multiple fjords with green looking waters and very high mountain borders on either sides of most of them and again, diminutive farm houses below the mountains.

Do wonder what it must be like
to live here during winter

Another remote but scenic location for a farm house

Being a quite remote part of Iceland, we were pleased to find located along one arm of the fjords, the Litlibaer Cafe, a small rock-laden, turfed home from 1895 now offering good coffee and traditional Icelandic pastries or waffles.

Rob standing in front of Litlibaer Cafe

inside the old home part
of Litlibaer Cafe

We were not alone along the fjords apart from the few cars making the drive.  There was wildlife within the waters either near the beginning of the fjords on small islands or hunting for food in the waters in the form of seals.

Seals resting on a small island in a fjord

We got lucky whilst slowly following the edge of one fjord, when Rob noticed some rippling in the water not far from shore. Something dark was under the water and finally, its head popped up, disappeared then popped up again with something in its mouth, Rob skilfully capturing it with the phone.

The seal had caught and was eating a wolffish

The fosses continued but there was one in particular in this remote part of Iceland was a ‘must see’… Fjallfoss!

So what is so special about Fjallfoss or strangely also called at times, Dynjandi.  Its big and cascades down about 100 metres, whilst the top of the falls are around 30 metres wide and finishes at around 60 metres wide.  

Only a few of the waterfalls of Dynjandi can be seen

To reach it involves a a scenic climb up a rough dirt track past 7 other waterfalls called Hæstahjallafoss, Strompgljúfrafoss, Göngumannafoss, Hrísvaðsfoss, Kvíslarfoss, Hundafoss and Bæjarfoss so the whole area is awash with fosses and quite spectacular.

Rob standing bottom left near Dynjandi

A lot of water flows off Dynjandi

One of the other waterfalls lower down from the main one

The puffins hadn’t left us either as we ventured along a long dirt road, again around the edges of mountains prone to avalanches, but the road also included some very scenic beach areas as we progressed.

The road we followed to reach the Latrabjarg cliffs

Another small remote farm (and church)
on the road to Latrabjarg cliffs

Yes… more puffins and other birds enjoying more cliff faces

Large numbers of Guillemots nest at Latrabjarg cliffs

Yawning puffin

Stretching puffin

Take off sequence of single puffin at Latrabjarg cliffs

CLICK HERE for more photos of Iceland Part 3. 2024

We were now on the final stretch of our extended circumnavigation of Iceland back towards Reykjavik so look out to the final instalment and go well.