Iceland Road Trip: Day 3 - Planes, Canyons and Dwarfs.
Our trip so far had been jam packed full of exploring all of the beautiful sites the South Coast has to offer including the Golden Ring Road, hiking Solheimajokull glacier and outdoor swimming. Today was not going to be any different as our journey continued east.
After eating our body weight worth in food for breakfast at Hotel Drangshlid (and taking a couple of apple pancakes for the road), we left the hotel with blue skies and sunshine.
Leaving early had its perks as we managed to visit the infamous Skógafoss before scores of tour buses arrived. It is such an impressive waterfall (and one of Iceland's biggest) giving you a visual of where the sea cliffs of this coastline used to be located. We climbed to the top of the staircase and descended just as the rain started to fall.
Near this waterfall is the Sólheimasandur plane crash site. We kept walking further and further away from the car park, wondering if we would ever reach it. After a solid 45 minute walk, the frame of the US navy plane slowly came into view. It crashed on the beach in 1973 and is still quite intact so you can go inside, with some people climbing on top of it. The scenery along the walk with the mountains was beautiful so for me, it was worth the trek.
We made our way back to the carpark as the dark clouds rolled in and we drove towards the Fjaðrárgljúfur canyon. Keep an eye out for the lava fields en route where the bright green moss covered lumps of landscape goes on for kilometres. Just don't step on them if you do go out to see it closer.
To access the car park of the Fjaðrárgljúfur canyon, you will definitely need a 4WD as the road is full of pot holes. We saw a camper van really struggling on it. The canyon itself is absolutely stunning. The river below winds its way through as you walk along the high canyon walls. The water is a beautiful blue, looking almost inviting if the weather was not so cold. We took a break at the end of the walk with a picnic and it was one of my favourite memories from the trip.
We then stopped in at Dverghamrar (Dwarf Rocks) which is another area you will find the hexagonal shaped basalt columns Iceland is known for (also seen in Ireland at the Giant's Causeway). According to folklore, the cliffs here at Dverhamrar are home to both elves and dwarfs. Unfortunately, we did not see any..
We found another waterfall, Stjórnarfoss, which is a beautiful place to take a break from the drive. It is a bit of a hidden gem so noone bar a photographer was there when we visited. There is a service station nearby so we grabbed a famed Icelandic hot dog. They are as delicious as you have read about.
After a full on day of exploring, it was bliss checking into Hof 1 Hotel where the dinner was a hearty lamb soup with unlimited servings. We definitely made the most of this along with the home-made bread that came with it. Dipping it in to savour every last mouthful of the delicious soup before rolling back to our room.
This is the third post of a six part series for my road trip along the South coast of Iceland. The others can be found below:
Day One - Reykjavik and the Golden Circle
Day Two - Glacier Hiking and Hot Pools
Day Five - Stokksnes and Black Sand Beaches
For ideas on how to plan for a road trip in Iceland, read this post.
Flights to Reykjavik from London can be purchased relatively cheaply if you book far enough in advance. Look on Skyscanner or Kayak to compare prices.
A lot of the places we stayed at were booked through Booking.com as they seem to have the most availability when I went to look. Book in advance so you don't miss out as Iceland is super popular!
