An island with massive volcanic activity also produces are lot of basalt structures: lots of columns and fields of octagons. A perfect place to discover them is the Stuðlagil canyon east of Egilsstaðir. It is a small detour from the ring road but one absolutely worth to do. The canyon was hidden under water until the Kárahnjúkavirkjun barrier lake was created in 2006. When the water was gone the beauty of the canyon was discovered and found its way into an aircraft magazine – and thereby started to attract many tourists.






On the northern side of the canyon you’ll now find a camping area and a parking site with a small eatery and bathrooms. From there long metal stairs lead 260 meters down into the canyon; climbing up again is a bit exhausting. On the other side you need to follow something that can’t be called a road to another parking area close to the Stuðlafoss waterfall. From there it is a nice 4.5 kilometers hike to the basalt structures.
Stuðlagil
Stuðlafoss
Egilsstaðir
Iceland
Loading map...