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Kjölur

F336 25 To Djúpavogur and Seyðisfjörður

To Akureyri

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10 11 Useful telephone numbers 9 Road Conditions: 1777 23 2 Weather Information: 902-0600 Emergency Number: 112

To Keflavik Int. Airport 42 28 Special driving & traffic information Speed limits 21 The speed limit in urban areas is normally 50 km per hour. Outside towns, it is 90 13 km, on paved roads and 80 km on gravel roads. 15 17 Warning Domestic animals are often close to, or Check weather and road 14 even on, country roads. Drivers who hit conditions tel. 1777 12 animals may be required to pay for the or at www.road.is damage.

18 16 Travellers intending to explore out-of-the-way areas are encouraged to use the Travellers’ Reporting Service ICE-SAR, tel. 570-5900

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19 Upplýsingamiðstöð Áhugaverður staður Bílferja Innanlandsflug Sundlaug . auglysing.new.pdf 1 29.05.15 09.56 Information Place of interest Ferry Domestic flights Geothermal Pool

Glacier Jeeps – Ice & Adventure www.glacierjeeps.is [email protected] Published by South Marketing Office 2015 SELJALANDSFOSS Tel. (+354) 4781000 Yo ur flight Photos: Páll Jökull Pétursson, Þórir Niels Kjartansson, Ásborg Arnþórsdóttir, Arcanum, S to adventure Þorvarður Árnason, Katla Geopark, Glacierjeeps ehf, Laufey Guðmundsdóttir, Hótel Geysir, Visit Vatnajökull, Sigurdís Lilja Guðjónsdóttir, Sveinbjörn Jónsson, and others. Food & Beverage Adventure tours from road F985 with specially equipped 4WD jeeps to Jöklasel. eagleair.is Design and layout: Páll Jökull Pétursson Wool & Giftshop Skidoos, jeeps and tour on www.hrauneyjar.is Printing: Oddi hf ’s largest glacier Vatnajökull NATURE HIGHLIGHTS 7 Geysir 15 Þórsmörk valley 23 Eldgjá Geysir has lent its name to the English language in 51 km from Hvolsvöllur. Road nr. 249 Eruptive fissure ABOUT SOUTH ICELAND order to christen the phenomenon of the periodically Þórsmörk is a beutiful woodland nature In Skaftártunguafréttur, in West-Skaftafellssýsla, 1 Hveragerði Hot Springs spouting hot springs. You can walk around the Geysir reserve surrounded by rugged and majestic close to Kirkjubæjarklaustur, the eruptive The South of Iceland is unique and it is the part of the area, a geothermal field where hot springs are in mountains, and glacial rivers. fissure Eldgjá is to be found. Eldgjá is an Location: Hveramörk 13, abundance, geysers explode and pools of mud Þórsmörk can only be reached all year approximately. 40 km long eruptive fissure, country visited by far the greatest numbers of foreign 810 Hveragerði bubble. Strokkur gives a performance every few round on 4 x 4 and scheduled buses during approximately 600 metres wide in many travellers. Everything that makes Iceland interesting to Right inside the town of minutes, shooting a tower of water and steam 30 the summer. Two unique hiking paths lead places, and up to 200 metres deep. When Hveragerði there is an area visit can be found in South Iceland all the year round. metres into the air and Blesi with water the colour to Þórsmörk; Laugavegur from Landmannalaugar and Fimmvörðuháls from Skógar. it was formed, probably around 934, there 28 Ingólfshöfði headland of hot springs from which History surrounds you everywhere, both ancient of turquoise delights the senses. were probably eruptions along the whole At the edge of the Atlantic Ocean, Ingólfshöfði is a headland which is isolated by the community derives its 16 Skógafoss waterfall extent of it. Plans to make Eldgjá and its black sands and perilous rivers from the rest of the mainland. However, it is home to and recent. Other highlights are creative art, culture, name (hver = hot spring). The 8 - One of Iceland’s most splendid waterfalls, surrounding area a part of Vatnajökull thousands of nesting seabirds, especially puffins and the great skua. This historical flourishing trade and endless possibilities to enjoy hot springs of Hveragerði are the Golden Falls Skógafoss tumbles 60 metres from the cliffs by National Park are in place. cape is named after the first settler of Iceland, Ingólfur Arnarson, who spent his first outdoor life in all seasons. But above all there is the South Iceland among the most remarkable Gullfoss is actually two separate waterfalls, Skógar. Before cascading off the cliffs as Skóga- winter there with his family after moving to Iceland, 874-875. natural attractions of South the upper one has a drop of 11 metres and foss, the river flows through the Skógárgil 24 Langisjór lake awesome and rugged nature stretching from the Iceland. Visitors to the hot the lower one 21 metres. The rock of the gorge, which boasts more than twenty Langisjór is a lake which is 20 km long and 29 Jökulsárlón mountains and down to the sea. springs can learn about river bed was formed during an interglacial more waterfalls, each with its own charm. 2 km wide in some places. The lake is to Glacial lagoon geothermal energy and the springs, which include Dynkur, spouting regularly, period. For thousands of years the river has the southwest of Vatnajökull, between the The size of the main lagoon, called Jökulsárlón, Ruslahver which has an interesting history, and many more. In all seasons of the year tourists can find something to followed its course delighting tourists with 17 Mýrdalsjökull mountains Tungnárfjöll and Fögrufjöll, in is about 20 square kilometres. In 1932 the beauty and power. glacier a beautiful and picturesque landscape. same area was still covered by ice. Many their liking. In winter the sun is reflected on the pearly 2 Arnarker cave Mýrdalsjökull‘s peak reaches 1493 metres Its square measure is 27 km², it reaches species of fish are found there, as well as Location: Approximately midway between white snow, on long dark winter nights the northern 9 Urriðafoss and Katla Volcano inside the glacier erupts a depth of 75 m and the water surface is seals, which can number into the hundreds Þorlákshöfn and Selvogur there is the cave lights dance around the starlit sky and the moon waterfall on average every 40-60 years. Sixteen 670 m above sea level. The view of mountains at the lake is magnificent, the lake is during winter. Arnarker, on the north side of the road. Urriðafoss is a voluminous waterfall in Þjórsá eruptions have been recorded since the settlement of Iceland over 1100 years ago, among the purest mountain lakes in Iceland. wanders through the clouds. At such times beauty, Arnarker is an interesting cave in the river, where the river falls off the margin the last one in 1918. 30 Haukafell peace and quiet reign, unforgettable to those who Leitarhraun lava field. A marked path 3 25 Free Tourist Map of Þjórsárhraun lava field (360 m /sec) Vatnajökull In 1985 the local Forestry Society started leads from the information sign by the experience it. Trips across the highlands as well as the in beautiful and peaceful surroundings. 18 Sólheimajökull National Park - planting saplings at Haukafell. Not only are road to the cave, and a ladder has been lowlands are an indescribable adventure during both Þjórsárhraun lava field is the greatest lava flow on earth since the Ice Age. The waterfall glacier Europe’s largest the trees now becoming established, but placed at its opening. Take great care when inspecting the cave. is located right off highway Sólheimajökull glacier flows south of The national park includes the ice cap there are bountiful berries to be picked summer and winter.

3 Mýrdalsjökull glacier in a U-shaped valley. and its surroundings, with a total area of every August. This pleasant outdoor spot Þingvellir 2 National Park 10 It is about 8 km long and 1-2 km wide. The 13,600 km , or 13% of Iceland. Few places also has a good camp site and washing The farmers mind their farms. All the year it is busy in One of the most famous volcanoes in the glacier advanced about 900 metres during in the world exhibit such a wide range of facilities. At Þingvellir the national assembly was world, Hekla is believed to have erupted at the last few centuries, but retreated greatly from 1930 to 1964. natural phenomena. The battle between the country, and in spring the land is covered with its established around 930 and continued least twenty times since the settlement of ice and fire still rages within the park 31 Heinaberg summer foliage. Life outdoors and trips assume a new to convene there until 1798. Many crucial Iceland, and five times in the 20th century. boundaries. Much of Southeast Iceland The Heinaberg area is part of the national events in Icelandic history took place at form: hiking tours, riding trips, angling in rivers and The last eruption was in February 2000. lies within the realm of the park, giving quick access to the glacier. Vatnajökull - the park, and offers interesting sets of basalt Þingvellir and it is at the heart of Icelandic world’s biggest glacier outside of the arctic regions. The glacier seems so close to the columns in addition to the glacier tongue lakes. Nature takes on a new look: hot springs, lava fields, nationhood. No less remarkable is the 11 Landmannalaugar people of Southeast Iceland that they sometimes refer to the ice as if it were part of Heinabergsjökull and the lagoon. The valley volcanoes, waterfalls, the highlands, glaciers, rivers and geology of Þingvellir. Visitors can get an volcano region their backyard. Each of the icefalls and glacier tongues flowing towards the lowlands Heinabergsdalur, 7 km long, reaches to interpretation of the history and nature lakes. All life is reborn after the frosts of winter and the Landmannalaugar is a region near the possesses an individual character and offers a variety of scenes. Vatnsdalur valley, which ice used to dam of Þingvellir and find hiking trails and countryside is at its most beautiful. volcano Hekla in the southern section of off and keep full of water. Nowadays, the view down into the valley is magnificent, camping grounds. Þingvellir is Iceland‘s oldest National Park and now on the UNESCO Iceland’s highlands. The area displays a 26 Skaftafell and since massive icebergs are often left stranded along its floor. World Heritage List. As a national park (since 1928) because of the special tectonic number of unusual geological elements, 19 Dyrhólaey headland waterfall Visit the southern countryside and take a look at the and volcanic environment. The continental drift can be clearly seen in the cracks or like the multi-coloured rhyolite mountains Sheer headland rising 120 metres out of the sea with a huge natural arch near Vík í Öræfi was Iceland’s most isolated district 32 Lónsöræfi faults which are traversing the region, the biggest one, Almannagjá, being a veritable beauty, listen to the wind and the silence, discover the and expansive lava fields. The mountains Mýrdal. Reynisdrangar sea stacks, Eldhraun lava fields and Mýrdalssandur sands are before the bridges to the west of it were Stafafellsfjöll canyon. This causes also the often measurable earthquakes in the area. in the surrounding area display a wide also magnificent sights. An amazing area of strength and beauty. completed in the early seventies. The The Stafafellsfjöll mountains, peace and quiet, and last but not least you may discover yourself. 4 Kerið crater spectrum of colours. natural contrasts are breathtaking: black today also called Lónsöræfi, 20 Hjörleifshöfði sands below white glaciers, desolate wastes dominate the skyline east A 55 m deep volcanic crater, about 3000 12 Seljalandsfoss headland and green vegetation. Such a green oasis of Vatnajökull glacier and years old. It is part of a group of volcanic hills Welcome to South Iceland, we’ll be happy to see you. waterfall Hjörleifshöfði is a 221 meter high headland made welcomes you at Skaftafell, just beside have long included one of called Tjarnarhólar and it is now filled Seljalandsfoss is just over 60 metres high of tuff. For a long time after the last ice age it the broad desert of the Skeiðarár sandur sands and the raging Skeiðará river. These Iceland’s most extensive with water. in a lovely location, sourrounded by cliffs was an island but by the time of the settlement contrasts and many more remind the visitor of nature’s changeability. protected areas. Besides and green slopes. A footpath leads behind it was an isthmus on the side of a fjord. Now the deep, rugged canyons, 5 Þjórsárdalur valley the waterfall. it lies more than two kilometers from the sea. the landscape displays a Þjórsárdalur valley was the site of a flourish- wide range of colours due to ing Settlement Age community that was 13 Merkjárfoss/ 21 Fjaðrárgljúfur Canyon rhyolite and other attractive later abandoned and then disappeared waterfall Fjaðrárgljúfur is a magnificent and massive rocks. In contrast, there are lushly vegetated, sheltered valleys, and a good chance of under ash in 1104, when the volcano The Merkjá River has several beautiful waterfalls, canyon, about 100 meters deep and about spotting reindeer. The numerous trails make this a perfect hiking territory. Mount Hekla erupted for the first time in but the most outstanding is Gluggafoss or Window two kilometres long. The canyon has sheer the history of Iceland. Falls. (also known as Merkjárfoss) The upper half walls, and is somewhat serpentine and narrow. of the cliff is palagonite or tuff rock and the lower The river Fjaðrá has its source in the mountain 6 Stöng and The Saga-Age Farm ledge is basalt. The river has formed tunnels and Geirlandshraun and falls off the heath edge in grooves through the soft rock and a series of „windows“ this stunning canyon until it makes it down into Skaftá river. Sites of about 40 buildings have been in the tunnels, thereby earning the name „Gluggafoss“. unearthed in the Þjórsárdalur valley and the 22 Lakagígar best preserved and most remarkable is 27 Öræfajökull glacier 14 Gljúfrabúi waterfall Lakagígar (Laki Craters) lie in a row, 25 km in length, in the farmhouse at Stöng excavated in 1939. Extending south from the Vatnajökull ice cap and towering to 2115 m, Öræfajökull www.south.is The waterfall Gljúfrabúi tumbles down from the Gljúfurá Síðumannaafréttur. The craters stretch from the tuff mountain Based upon the Stöng farmhouse a replica is Iceland’s highest mountain. Its height actually depends on the season and the Share your experience River. Its source is just north of Tröllagil (Troll Gorge) Canyon Hnúta to the northeast through Mt. Laki (818 m above sea level), Saga-Age farmhouse was built in 1974 to depth of snow, since the peak itself, Hvannadalshnjúkur, is topped by ice which is www.facebook.is/visitsouthiceland in the heath Hamragarðaheiði. It is a spring-fed river and ending at Vatnajökull. Mt. Laki commands splendid views of the mark the 1100th anniversary of the settlement thickest in spring and thinnest in autumn. The mountain and its vicinity are very #southiceland less voluminous than its neighbour Seljalandsá River. craters and the surrounding landscape. Lakagígar are a part of of Iceland. Open to the public all summer. popular among hikers and skiers. #southiceland Vatnajökull National Park, the largest national park in Europe. Prentun: Prentsmiðjan Oddi, júlí 2015.