Our best view of Snæfellsjökull Volcano
Just visible to the north of Reykjavik, the Snæfellsjökull volcano sits inside a beautiful national park. For our last day in Iceland we rented another car, this time a 4×4, to head north to the Snæfellsnes peninsula.
It’s probably doable in a 2 wheel drive car but the weather was awful, so even on the well maintained roads we were glad of the extra traction.
Leaving Reykjavik we travelled north on route 1, stopping for a break midway at the N1 service station on the small island before Borgarnes. As with many service stations in Iceland it’s a lot more than a petrol stop – there’s a couple of restaurants, a few shops selling groceries and souvenirs, along with pristine toilets and showers.
It was about here that the weather turned even worse, so we were glad of the larger car. We could see small cars and large trucks being heavily affected by the strong side winds.
Rauðfeldar Canyon
Rauðfeldar Canyon
Our first stop was a small layby overlooking lava fields, small rivers and Rauðfeldar Canyon. It’s a narrow hiking route to visit the sites in the story of Bardur Snæfellsas and his voluptuous daughters.
Layby at Rauðfeldar Canyon
Stream at Rauðfeldar Canyon
Car dashboard after opening the door for a second
Unfortunately the rain and wind were so strong it didn’t really endear us to a long walk.
Lóndrangar Basalt Cliffs
Lóndrangar Basalt Cliffs
By now we were about 120km from Reykjavik and the first point to entice us out of the comfort of the car was the Lóndrangar rock pinnacles. The highest is 75m tall and home to endless seabirds – mostly puffins.
The surrounding flat grassland is left unfarmed as it is supposedly the property of the local elves. The uninterrupted expanse allows the wind to reach incredible speeds, making walking and even standing quite difficult.
Basalt cliffs
This whole area is the setting of the novel Journey to the Center of the Earth by the French author Jules Verne.
The landscape that inspired Jules Verne
Snæfellsnes picnic spot
Snæfellsnes Tips
Thankfully there are warm if slightly grumpy coffee shops all over the Snæfellsnes peninsula. They’re usually situated around sightseeing points but also in the local fishing villages and picturesque towns on the northern shore such as Rif, Ólafsvík, Grundarfjörður, Stykkishólmur and Búðardalur.
Remote Church at Snæfellsnes
Abandoned building
Before we left we stocked up on snacks at Kjarval supermarket. The two main chains are Kjarval and Bonus, with the latter being more geared toward a weekly shop and Kjarval more useful for a daytripper. There’s a tasty selection of sandwiches, salads and cakes, along with free cutlery and napkins.
Most of the service stations sell hot drinks and a few have hot food, such as this enormous $1 bag of chips.
Cheap as chips
It’s easy to visit Snæfellsnes in a day trip from Reykjavik but there are plenty of guesthouses in the small towns if you want to add an overnight stay.
Website: www.visitsnaefellsnes.is
