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Svinafellsjokull
Another outlet glacier of Vatnajökull, the largest ice cap in Europe. Just another glacier? Even for Iceland standards, the Svinafellsjokull is a beauty. When driving along the Ring Road across the vast Skeidararsandur alluvium, the glacier starts to dominate the vision on the panorama many kilometres before you reach it. The closer you come the more it fills the view through the windscreen and urges you for a visit.
The glacier winds down with several steps from high up in the mountains and is framed by two steep and rugged cliffs. After a bend in the road (coming from the south) you have to leave the main road onto a gravel road (the condition of this road gets worse the later the tourist season runs, as too many buses and wannabe rally drivers pass it) and follow it to the parking in front of the moraine at the southern flank of the glacier. From there it is a short walk to the glacier.
You can either climb up along the rocky mountain flanks from where you have a brilliant view on the glacier and the surrounding mountains or follow the – less overrun – path along the moraine. Once away from the masses you can savour the majestic view on the glacier with the lagoon and icebergs in front of it in more quietness. It is a very alpine scenery, humiliating and beautiful.
The Svinafellsjokull is very popular for glacier hiking (do not do this alone!) and there are guided tours that can be booked. Together with the neighbouring Skaftafell, it forms the Skaftafell Nature Reserve, which means that there is at least some basic walking infrastructure in the form of maintained paths.
The Svinafellsjokull also played a mayor part in season seven of Game of Thrones.
For more information check the Guide to Iceland site.
More visual impressions in this gallery.
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