DAY 6 (Aug 5, 2019) - the highlands and Fjarðarárgljúfur

The Highlands (Holaskjol)

Fjarðarárgljúfur

The highlands (holaskjol)

We stayed one night in a cabin at the Holaskjol campground, not fully knowing what we were getting ourselves into in terms of the length of gravel roads (F-roads). It took us about 50 minutes of driving 30-60mph on rural hilly gravel roads to our cabin, pretty scary when your car is not built for it. We probably saw less than 10 cars in the 50 minutes of driving. The fear was that if our street tires pop, we’d have a hell of a time getting help. Luckily, we got there just fine, checked in and got some rest in the cabin, and woke up to explore the highlands the next morning. There’s a beautiful waterfall just up the hill from the campground. The highlands is where the locals go to get away from it all. No guardrails, no ropes, no amenities laid out for tourists. Just you and nature, that’s it. The view up there is gorgeous, and the serenity of being out there by ourselves was really special.

Voyagers tips: The long gravel road drive is a serious commitment, make sure you allow time for the drive before visiting. We wouldn’t recommend anyone without 4x4s to visit this spot, but if you have an SUV and are up for the drive, this is certainly a different Iceland experience worth exploring.

Fjarðarárgljúfur

This was less popular until Justin Bieber showed it in his “I’ll Show You” music video. Now it’s so popular they have to close the place down periodically just to let nature recover. Luckily, it was re-opened back in June. The view is beautiful, but since the paths are so tightly controlled, it’s just a nice stroll and enjoying the view. The view is top notch, but our opinion on this spot was mixed. Megan loved the view, whereas Ivan liked other spots where multiple senses were triggered. Maybe the association with Justin Bieber just turned him off.