Day 5 - Dettifoss

- Dettifoss - 

Dettifoss, located in Jökulsárgljúfur National Park is also known as the most powerful and largest waterfall in Europe with its size of 100 meters width and plunges from 45 meters height.

- Driving to Dettifoss -

There are 2 routes linking to the waterfall, Route 864 and route 862 (Newer route and closer if you are coming from the West).

Route 864

Links to the East bank of the waterfall. It will be closed during winter season so you will have to use alternate route 862. Route is not paved and very rough to drive on. Total of 32km drive and further from the viewing point. Walking distance is 700 meters from parking. We drove halfway in to find that the road is closed due to slippery winter. We went in driving Kia Sportage but for the unpaved section it is not too difficult to drive, just that you have to drive veryyy slow to get in and avoiding port holes. Speed limit is 80km/hr but you will probably be driving at 30km/hr. According to many bloggers and trip advisor comments, the view are spectacular and you get to see a fuller view of the waterfalls

Route 862

Links to the West bank, a better option as it is well paved with total 22km distance (finished in year 2011) It is also nearer to the fall with ample car park space, huge enough to accommodate buses. There are blogs saying that it is sometimes closed during the winter so better check for road condition before travelling. I personally prefer route 862 as it will be a smoother ride plus there is FREE PARKING and FREE TOILET! 

One thing about the toilets here, it looks like portable toilets around construction sites/fun fair. Total of about 10 of it and it doesn't flush~~~ It is like a basin full of everybody's junk and the smell definitely blows your mind. Unless if you really urgently needs a leak, do not enter. I thought I nearly died there LOL! 

The walk to the waterfall is on flat ground, totally zero difficulty. Take note the nearer to the falls, the slippery it gets. And again, you will be drenched as the water are so strong it forms water vapour spraying on you. This place is totally worth to stop by. We nearly bypass this due to road closure and thank god we did not give up. Another thing good about travelling in Iceland is that the attractions are mostly FOC, so most of the expenses will be on hotels, petrol and food. Below is one quick video on the waterfall.

- Selfoss - 

Another 1km walk from Detifoss may bring you to another waterfall Selfoss. This is also a must see attraction in Iceland.. but due to the long and rocky climb we decided to skip this! There are walking route from west bank and also east bank. I have found some good reference view on West and East bank for your reference.

West Selfoss

East Selfoss

Now you can clearly judge for yourself which area you should go for a better view. For day 5 due to the extra long journey, we only had time for one destination. Stay tune for Day 6 where we go whale watching! 

Day 5 Driving Route:-

Total distance traveled: 250km

Time spent on road: 3 hours 30 minutes

Day 4 - East Iceland

- Journey To The East -

Day 4 in Iceland, we traveled another milestone to East Iceland! Up till this day, the sky is still drizzling with thick clouds. Although it means good weather for driving, but also means NO AURORA for the night! The view on road was amazing as you see glaciers and waterfalls 360 degrees around you. The sheep population also seemed larger here (maybe due to less human populations here and less being hunted as food?). The government did a good job on fencing the wild sheep, but there are still cases of sheep being hit by car. Maybe this is why their government enforce the law of 90km/hour max along all routes. 

The first thing you need to do when you hit a sheep is to locate its owner. I have read a few blogs and bloggers did mentioned that once you were caught hit and run, there will be heavy fine instilled. So it is best to pay directly to the owner than paying via law. Side note, Icelandic sheep are not social friendly, they don't come near to human beings and definitely don't respond to your "Mekkk... Bahhhhh.. MekEkEkEkkk..." Trust me, I tried.

- Eggin í Gleðivík -

First pit stop, Eggin í Gleðivík (The Eggs from Merry Bay).

It is located in a small town Djúpivogur, also known as slow moving town. This is the place famous for craft products where a guy named Sigurður Guðmundsson crafted 34 eggs in year 2009. The attraction is located near fish factory and there are huge amount of seagulls. You will also see craft products with stone around the residential area. Most houses have different designs and arrange stones around their balcony. Video shown above as it was heavily pouring and in this weather we don't bother to get soaked for a photo. 

One thing interesting in the town is they don't have toilets in their convenience store. The convenience store size is 5 times bigger than the 7-11 we normally see but I guess Icelanders don't use the toilet too much? There is one toilet available near the pier, which location is available in the convenience store. And thank god it it FOC.

- Seyðisfjörður -

Blaa Kirkjan blue church 

Second pit stop, city tour around Seyðisfjörður.
Lonely Planet calls it, “the most historically and architecturally interesting town in East Iceland.” 

stunning view of multiple waterfalls landscape on route

Weather is cloudy and raining all day long so no blue skies. This is a small town with around 700 inhabitants. One of the attraction is the blue church where Icelander host cultural parties in July called LungA Art Festival. I would recommend travelers to stop by this town for its beautiful architecture 

Nearby, there is another attraction Tvísöngur sound sculpture. It looked like 5 different dome shaped coconut husk connecting to each other. It is said to amplifier 5 different tones of Iceland traditional music instrument five tone harmony. You may try singing in this dome and it should sound better than the echo in your bathroom.

- Gufufoss - 

Third pit stop, Gufufoss.

"Gufa" in Iceland means vapor, "Foss" means waterfall. The largest and most striking waterfall in Seyðisfjörður, just outside Egilsstaðir city. Parking area is relatively small and hard to spot at the road side. The car park or I should say emergency stop area is big enough to fit 2 cars at one time. 1 minute walk from parking and you will reach the waterfall, very misty and windy on the way. We tried to set up our tripod but the strong gale blew it away and it nearly smashed our camera. So it should be best to bring along heavy tripod or those very "atas" camera gear. 

Total distance traveled: 243km

Time spent on road: >4 hours due to strong gale