We started off from Egilsstadir and continued to drive North towards Lake MyVatn and Akureyri. The scenery was amazing all along the way. For such a small country (literally an island), Iceland has such varied scenery across its different regions. It’s glacial on one end, volcanic on another, fjords on one side, mountains on another, ocean and waterfalls everywhere!
Coming close to Lake Myvatn, there are some attractions that required us to take a detour towards the North (Rte 864). This route contains the huge waterfall Dettifoss, some interesting hikes and rock formations, and the Asbyrgi canyon. Our first stop was the huge waterfall, and when I say huge, I mean massive. There are some hikes around this waterfall, but we moved on to the next stop along Rte 864.
Between Dettifoss and Asbyrgi, there is a short detour that takes you to the starting point of many hikes and a campground. While some are multi-day hikes, we found a shorter one – Hljodaklettar. We did not really know how long this hike was going to be (or how intense) before we started, and that was probably a good thing. Because, it was strenuous to say the least! I was scaling mountains and rock scrambles along the way, with steep inclines, but the views and what we saw were worth it! I was too tired climbing to snap picture, so the ones I have don’t do justice.
The third stop on this route was the Asbyrgi canyon. You essentially drive into the base of the canyon and can see its horseshoe shape around you, if you step far back enough. We found this cute little playground near the canyon that offered good views.
After leaving Asbyrgi, we drove through Husavik, bordering the Arctic ocean to Akureyri, our halt for the night. We visited downtown Akureyri which had nice cafes and restaurants, even an Indian place.
We stayed at the Bjarnargerdi guesthouse, in a private room with a shared bathroom. The room was neat, and had a great view over Akureyri. It was about 5 miles away from the city center, so you had to drive into the city. The guesthouse also had a hot tub that we made use of.
Check here to see if Bjarnargerdi has rooms for your dates
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Tomorrow, we head to the Lake Myvatn area to see some of its attractions.
