Fjaðrárgljúfur Canyon
9 July 2019
The Fjaðrárgljúfur Canyon is one of Iceland’s most famous and most majestic sights. A huge canyon with high walls and beautiful natural colors draws in flocks of visitors to experience this amazing place. However, the more people who flock places, the more you get people who don’t have much care or appreciation for the fragility of the environment or the need to respect and protect the landscape. As such, disrespectful tourists have caused so much damage to the canyon’s landscape that Iceland needed to close the location for a few months to allow nature to heal itself. Lucky for us, it had just reopened in June, so we were able to visit! New barriers were erected to keep people out of damaged areas, and hopefully future visitors will appreciate the need to respect this amazing place and work to preserve rather than carelessly destroy it.
Also, Justin Bieber filmed a video here, so I’m going to blame the landscape destruction on him.
We followed the trail from the parking area up the slope of the cliffs. At Fjaðrárgljúfur, you walk along the top of the canyon rather than through it. I’m not sure you can really get down inside, but they have been pressing people to stick only to the path so they don’t have to close again. You need to respect that.
From atop the cliffs, we were treated to some amazing views despite the day being overcast and dreary. The water flowing down the center of the canyon was narrow and shallow, more of a stream than a river. The rocks were jagged and dramatic, the green grass and moss that covered them adding splashes of color. The walls stand at over 300 feet (100 m) at their highest, dropping straight down to the river below. Some little streams were flowing bright orange from the grass down to the cliffs, so I’m guessing there is a lot of iron in the hills. It is all so beautiful.
About a mile down the trail we come to a lookout platform. Here is where Fjaðrárgljúfur ends, and you can see the little river is fed by a waterfall cascading down the edge of the canyon. The platform extends out over the side of the cliff, giving an amazing view of the rocky cliffs and snaking river. Fjaðrárgljúfur is a stunning sight, conjuring up images of places in fantasy stories with their impenetrable landscapes - like the Vale in Game of Thrones. You could imagine soaring through the canyon walls on the back of some winged mythical creature. Places like this inspire much from the imagination, so much so that it is hard to believe they are real. But Fjaðrárgljúfur is not a made-up fantasy location, it is real… and we are standing on its clifftop!
Please, if you do get the chance to visit such a naturally spectacular place such as Fjaðrárgljúfur, please respect the fragile environment and help to preserve its beauty. We were lucky to be able to visit; if it were still closed, we would have missed something spectacular for sure. Respect the environment, preserve the splendor of these places… don’t force them to close it down again.
