The volcanic landscapes surrounding the village of Kirkjubæjarklaustur are a photogenic highlight of any road trip along the south coast. If you’re heading to Fjallsárlón, then build in some time to park up and admire the distinctive terrain before continuing on to the glacial lagoon. In this article, we’ll take a look at what there is to see and how the volcanic landscapes near Kirkjubæjarklaustur came to be created.
Fjallsarlon Blog
The seasons in Iceland are very different from another with summer, autumn, winter and spring. The tourism can be divided to summer season and winter season.
Like most visitors to Iceland, I initially imagined only the stunning waterfalls, fairytale-like glaciers, and towering volcanoes that dominate the landscape. But beyond these iconic sights, there’s another, equally fascinating side of Iceland—the wildlife that calls this land home.
Every time I travel, I make a packing list. It helps to avoid forgetting important things, but sometimes, it’s still not foolproof. If you’re planning your trip to the land of fire and ice, the Northern Lights, the midnight sun, glaciers, waterfalls, and volcanoes, it’s best to be prepared with the right gear and clothes. At the same time, packing light will allow you to move around more easily.
The Vatnajökull Ice Cap is the largest in Iceland and the second biggest in Europe after the Severny Island Ice Cap in Novaya Zemlya, Russia. It covers an area of about 7700km2 which represents about 8% of Iceland’s land area. Beneath its surface hide seven active volcanic systems: Öræfajökull, Bárðarbunga, Kverkfjöll, Grímsvötn, Þórðarhyrna, Hamarinn and Esjufjöll. These sometimes cause some of the ice to melt creating floods known as jökulhlaups.
Fjallsárlón is a stunning glacial lagoon in southeastern Iceland, a true hidden gem of the Icelandic landscape. Unlike its neighbor, Jökulsárlón, Fjallsárlón offers a more peaceful and intimate experience, free from large crowds. One of its greatest advantages is the incredible proximity to the glacier—you can admire its towering ice formations even from the shore. The boat tour adds a whole lot of things to the experience reaching the edge of the glacier.
I can still vividly recall my first trip to Iceland—it feels as fresh in my mind as if it happened yesterday. It was December 2012, and from the moment I stepped out of the airport, I was completely mesmerized. Snow blanketed the world in every direction, and though the darkness of winter had already settled, the snow’s brightness gave everything an enchanting glow, making the atmosphere almost surreal.
Skaftafell slots into the much larger Vatnajökull National Park, of which Fjallsárlón glacier lagoon is also a part off. This remarkable area is known for its striking scenery, including jaw-dropping waterfalls and magnificent glaciers. The terrain that you see today owes a lot to past eruptions of Öræfajökull volcano. The flow of glacial rivers coupled with intermittent floods have shaped and reshaped the area’s valleys and plains.
Travellers who reach Fjallsárlón glacier lagoon will have been treated to some extraordinary landscapes. You can be forgiven for thinking that the iceberg strewn lagoon with its wonderful backdrop of the Fjallsjökull glacier would be hard to top. Nevertheless, road trippers will delight in what’s to come, as East Iceland is one of the most picturesque and unspoilt regions of the country.
Iceland is known for extreme weather at least some of the time and the surroundings of Vatnajökull Glacier. The southeast of Iceland has somewhat uniqueness in weather compared to other parts of the country. It is in fact warmer and rainier than any other parts of the country.