The south of Iceland: the dark side of the island

Today we go to discover the south of Iceland, passing by Seljalandsfoss and Skogafoss waterfalls and ending in Reynisfjara beach. After the Golden Circle, the southern part of the island remains the second most popular destination on the island.

As I told you how to organize your trip this second part of the trip is recommended only if you have chosen to stay more than 5 days in Iceland. The mandatory stops of the south of Iceland are Seljalandsfoss Waterfall, Skogafoss Waterfall, and Reynisfjara beach.

For those interested in visiting the various volcanoes in the area, for example, Helka volcano, I advise you to organize this part before your landing, on the contrary, it will be complicated to add it to your trip. My general tips about this part:

To get to these areas you need to rent a 4×4 car.
Look between the many organized tours.
Prepare hiking equipment unless the tour operator lends it to you.

SELJALANDSFOSS WATERFALL

Seljalandsfoss Waterfall is located 120km from Reykjavik, parking is a 5min walk from the waterfall. This stage is one of the mandatory especially for lovers of photography, you can make beautiful photos. Single advice, bring a waterproof jacket because you will get wet when you go behind the waterfall.

Of this part what I liked the most was Gljúfrabúi waterfall at 5min walk from Seljalandsfoss, hiding in a crack, is very beautiful.

SKOGAFOSS WATERFALL

Skogafoss waterfall is 30km from Seljalandsfoss, the view of this huge waterfall is impressive. The waterfall is one of the largest in the country along with the Gullfoss waterfall. It is 60m high and 25m wide, and given the amount of foam, it normally produces a rainbow. Do not stand at the foot of the waterfall, climb up the steps, and for lovers of trekking from this point, there are several paths.

If you have time to make a stop in between to these waterfalls you can stop in Seljavallalaug Zwembad. Is a swimming pool in the middle of nowhere, honestly I do not find it very important but it can be a good place to take a break.

Once passed Skogafoss waterfall, another tourist stop is Sólheimasandur and the remains of the plane landed in the black sand. If you want to arrive, use the GPS there are various signs indicating the prohibition to pass but do not worry about that.

REYNISFJARA BEACH

The first stop in this area will be in Dyrholaey in order to admire the black beach from above, it is a beautiful show I recommend you go from here. They say that this area is very famous to see the famous puffin (typical Icelandic birds) unfortunately I have not seen them.

Once you arrive at the famous Reynisfjara beach, you can admire its black sand which is made of basalt sea stacks. In 1991 he was ranked as one of the ten most beautiful non-tropical beaches in the world.