Skaftafell

The Skaftafell oasis in the Vatnajökull national park is a welcoming place in an otherwise rough landscape. The visitor’s center provides you with everything you need and then it is up to you: waterfall or glacier? In one direction you can hike to the nice Svartifoss waterfall, in the other direction a geologically interesting path guides you to the Skaftafellsjökull glacier. But the way to walk has extended over the last years; because of climate change the glacier has reduced in size dramatically.

After one hour you can reach the Svartifoss which is amazing because it is following from huge basalt columns; one of the classic photo opportunities of Iceland. I decided to go for the glacier which you can reach in about half an hour. You’ll first see the glacier lake with icebergs and you can roam this area freely. Then you can follow the water into the often black ice; the path is narrow and a bit dangerous – choose wisely how far you want to go. Don’t forget to pay for parking, they register your number plate by cameras. You can do so by vending machines or a smartphone app near the visitor’s center.

Svartifoss
Skaftafellsjökull
Skaftafell
Iceland