ICELAND WATERFALLS: DETTIFOSS AND SELFOSS

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Day 9: LAUGAR - MÝVATN LAKE: Skutustadagigar - Stakhólstjörn- Höfdi: Kálfaströnd - DIMMUBORGIR - Hverfell - Grotagja - MÝVATN GEOTERMAL AREA: Bjarnarflag - DETTIFOSS - SELFOSFOSS - HAFRAGOSV - HOSTS

At 7 in the morning we are already starting a new day of our trip to Iceland for free that is more than complete by visiting the Lake Mývatn area, where we passed yesterday to start our excursion to Askja.
Having breakfast we talk to the owner of Laugar Guesthouse again and he confirms that they follow the same news we had yesterday when they told us that we are on orange alert to the possible eruption of Bárðarbunga volcano in Vatnajökull.

After 8.30 and having breakfast as kings, we have to say that in the majority of guesthouses where we are staying we find handmade bread, homemade jam ... we are going to start a business like this in the future. Who knows? 😉
We leave Laugar towards Mývatn Lake Information Center on the road 1 where a few minutes before 9 in the morning we see that we are going through many of the points we want to visit from the east and south of Lake Mývatn, so we prefer to take advantage of the time and do before going to the Center of Information these visits.
The first stop we make is at the pseudo craters of Skutustadagigar and at the Stakhólstjörn pond.

Skutustadagigar

These impressive and at the same time enigmatic "holes"formed around the Mývatn Lake they formed when liquid lava flowed to the lake, unleashing a series of gas explosions. Known as pseudo-craters, these hills acquired these forms when the boiling water of the subsoil was trapped and burst, forming small cones and craters.

Pseudo-craters of Skutustadagigar

After a walk between pseudo craters we continue until Höfdi and Kálfaströnd, one of the most spectacular landscapes in the area, where we arrive in 10 minutes.
We leave the rental car in Iceland in the parking lot and go straight for a walk in the area, starting the path through a path that takes us to the famous lava formations in the middle of the water.

Landscapes of Höfdi approaching Kálfaströnd

Kálfaströnd are one of the most famous lava pillars that emerge from the water in the area of Höfdi. There are many trails that run through this area, for which you will need 1 hour or so if you want to have a minimum perspective.

The vegetation that combines with lava and water is incredible. And silence, a constant in our trip through Iceland, which is being an incredible asset for us that we are not very given to noisy places.

Kálfaströnd

After almost an hour lost between lava pillars, we make our way to Dimmuborgir, which is about 3 kilometers from Höfdi, stopping before in a viewpoint of the road from which you can see from another perspective Kálfaströnd, the different formations in the water that we saw before walking.
We arrived, we left the car in the parking lot and after going to the bathroom, where we paid 200 ISK with a credit card (something that continues to surprise us although we have already done it on other occasions of the trip), we will travel the most popular path, the 2.3km Church Circuit, in which we are more or less an hour enjoying an incredible landscape, surrounded by lava formations with the most daring forms and the famous mosquitoes in the area. And we come across a couple of organized groups in which 90% carry the head mosquito nets that we saw before that were sold at the gas station and that in honor of the truth, we have to say that they are somewhat funny.

Dimmuborgir trails

The huge and fascinating Dimmuborgir lava field It is one of the most impressive in the country, so we recommend that you visit it if you are in the area.

Dimmuborgir lava field formations

Dimmuborgir

It is believed that these lava fields were created about 2000 years ago when lava from the crater rows of Prengslaborgir and Lúdentarborgir flowed through the oldest lava fields of Hverfell. The new lava accumulated forming a burning lake and as the surface cooled it began to form a domed ceiling over the still liquid material.

Dimmuborgir Lava Field

At 11.45 in the morning we just toured the Church Circuit in Dimmuborgir and we are back in the car on the way to Mývatn Lake Information Center going through the amazing hverfell, an almost symmetrical crater that appeared 2700 years ago after a huge eruption of the Lúdentarhíð and where you can climb through a path. On this occasion we will be left wanting to climb, but again it will be. There is no time for everything 😉

Views of the Hverfell behind the lava fields

But although we are just in time, we cannot resist stopping at Grotagja, even a few minutes, to see see this amazing cave.
With an incredible sun and 16 degrees, we have to insist again on the luck we are having in this trip to Iceland in which the good weather is accompanying us practically every day.

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We park the car in the enabled area and after seeing the cartel that indicates access, we enter through the overture we have in front of us.

Access to Grotagja

Amazing! One of those places that are not marked as essential in the guides and that for us become places that we will never forget.
Grotagja is a fissure with a cave full of water which is about 45º, which although it is too much to bathe, you can always risk getting a foot or a hand to experience the sensation.

Grotagja

If you can do not miss this visit and more telling that it is a few minutes from the rest of important areas of the Mývatn Lake.
From here we go, now yes, to Mývatn Lake Visitor Center to inform us of the situation and tell us that for the moment everything remains the same as yesterday and that there are no problems to go to the area of Dettifoss and Selfoss, since in case of eruption of Bárðarbunga, the water caused by the thaw, it would take time to arrive 12 hours to that area.
Having already confirmed that we can continue with the planning of visits we had for today, we took the opportunity to buy a couple of loaves of bread and a havarti cheese with terrific species, in the supermarket that is right next to the gas station and we gave ourselves a Good picnic at the tables outside, all accompanied by the food we already had in the trunk of the car and some ice cream for dessert.

Picnic on Lake Mývatn

There is no better way to fill the stomach than this. And all for less than 1500 ISK
It's 1 noon when we start the second part of our planning today and we do it in the Mývatn geothermal area, making the first stop at Bjarnarflag, where we stop first at the Blue Lagoon, an attractive raft that is actually quite toxic and that we should not confuse with the luxurious Reykjavik baths.

Bjarnarflag

Bjarnarflag has been the scene of several companies that have made this place their place to take advantage of nature's force for years.
Formerly farmers tried to plant potatoes, but it was impossible since they came out cooked. At the end of time, 25 wells were dug to prove the feasibility of creating a gothermal power plant and later a diatomite plant was created, of which the only thing left is the Blue Lagoon we talked about earlier.
The next stop we make is at Hverir, a magical world of ocher tones, which not only takes your breath away from the smell, but also from the incredible place you are in.

Hverir

Hverir reminds us of a lunar landscape, of mud boilers, smoking vents and a strong smell of sulfur that remind us of our passage through one of the most incredible places we have been lucky to know, Yellowstone National Park, in States United.

Smoking mud in Hverir

The Hverir area is bounded by trails and ropes to avoid damaging nature and prevent accidents.
If you have time there is a path that runs along the crest of Námafjall, which in an ascent of about 30 minutes will offer you incredible views of the surrounding fumaroles.

Hverir

Fumarolas in Hverir

After more than an hour enjoying the Hverir area, we return to the car and continue on Highway 1 towards Dettifoss, which will be the next stop of the day.
We pass the signal of Kafla, where we will return tomorrow to enjoy another moment of fumaroles and continue on Highway 1 until we reach the detour of Highway 862, which in addition to Detifoss, Selfoss and Hafragilsfoss It will allow us to see Vesturdalur, Klapir and Ásbyrgi, so we decided to skip the first turnoff and after passing the Jökulsá River (the glacial river that could overflow from the eruption) we take the detour of the 862 road that is unpaved.
And here is when the 45 minutes of continuous bumps begin that will take us to Two of Iceland's waterfalls: Dettifoss and Selfoss.
We leave the car in the parking lot and with the sky a bit cloudy we start down some stairs that in less than 10 minutes leave us in front of a spectacle of unparalleled nature.

Dettifoss

With only 44 meters high and 100 meters wide, a flow of 193 cubic meters falls thundering along the edge, creating a dew column that can be seen up to a kilometer away. Dettifoss is the largest waterfall in Europe.

Dettifoss, one of the most incredible waterfalls in the world

As we get closer we are more impressed and when the sky ends up opening to make way for the sun, we have just decided that it is one of the most impressive places we have ever been.
Here we are more than 30 minutes, until looking at the clock we decide that it is time to go to Selfoss, another of the most impressive waterfalls in the area, for which we have to travel a road of 1.4 kilometers from Dettifoss.

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To take this path you have to climb a bit from the Dettifoss viewpoint, where is the identifying sign of the direction and some yellow sticks that indicate the path to follow. Do not follow directly from the viewpoint as we did since the road is a constant of rocks that must be half climbed.
In the end we arrive in front of Selfoss and we feel amazed again in the face of an incredible waterfall.

Selfoss

While we are here we cannot stop thinking that if the Bárðarbunga volcano It erupted, this river is the one that could overflow.

Stunning views of Selfoss

At 17 in the afternoon we leave behind Dettifoss and Selfoss and we return to the car to go to the parking lot of the third of the Iceland waterfalls what we will see today: Hafragilsfoss.
We leave the car in the parking lot and first stop at a viewpoint and then follow a small path that takes us to the best views of the waterfall.

Hafragilsfoss

Again we feel the awesome power of nature.
It is a quarter to 6 and the sky has grown quite dark so we decided that it is time to go to Húsavík, the place where we will sleep today and that it is 70 kilometers from Dettifoss and Selfoss.
We arrive in Húsavík at 7 pm and as soon as we park we will check in to our guesthouse. We had noted that we had to do it in a hotel of the same owners located a few meters ahead and our surprise is when they tell us at the reception that at no extra cost we can sleep in the Húsavík Cape Hotel.
We can not resist the temptation and although the shared bathroom has been great so far, that being able to have one for us only after 10 days, we have to say that it is milk 🙂
So we rested for a while at the hotel and at 8 pm we went out to dinner, finishing at Salka Restaurant, where we ordered a plate of pasta and a chicken wok plus water for 5200 ISK.

Dinner at Salka Restaurant in Húsavík

Today we are busted after an incredible day that we have finished in two of Iceland's waterfalls: Dettifoss and Selfoss. Now we only have to sleep and rest, that tomorrow follows our travel through Iceland, the country of ice and fire.