Day 5 brought us further east along the Iceland Ring Road. Our destination was the glacier laden Skaftafell National Park, where we did some glacier hiking, and in the evening, another drive out to Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon. The day was packed with sights, so I will split it into 3 separate posts. This post will just cover the sights between Skógar and Skaftafell.

We kicked off the morning with free breakfast at Welcome Hotel Lambafell. Oh man oh man, it was AMAZING. We had fee flow of: sliced bread, Icelandic yogurt, jam, cucumber, tomatoes, sliced ham. It looked simple, but everything tasted so fresh and good! Especially the ham, mama mia. Maybe it was a sign that we haven't had good food for a while now. There are not many restaurants around the Skogar area. Most of the dining places are inside hotels.

Awesome free hotel breakfast

One last look at Welcome Hotel Lambafell

One last look at the Lambafell area. The scenery was just as breathtaking as the first time I saw it.

After checking out from the hotel, it was onwards towards Skaftafell, a roughly 2 hour journey (without stops). Of course this being Iceland, there were bound to be stops to stand in awe of the scenery.

Laufskálavarða

The first scenic stop was Laufskálavarða (Laufskalavarda). It is known for the many many stone cairns, piled rocks, found around the area. From this spot, we soaked in the beauty and sheer massiveness of the Mýrdalsjökull glacier and the other surrounding glaciers. It's hard to appreciate the scale from the pictures. You just have to be there in person to feel humbled and dwarfed by it.

Laufskálavarða information board. It provides historical context of the area as well as the tradition of piling up rocks here.

Lots and lots of stone cairns in the area. Based on the information board, the government provides stones so that travelers can continue this tradition.

Just amazing beauty in every direction. The weather cooperated very well too.

Zooming in to the massive Mýrdalsjökull glacier.

Waterfalls can also been seen streaming out from the glacier.

Onwards to other scenic spots!

Kirkjubæjarklaustur

Next on our list was the small town of Kirkjubæjarklaustur. The plan was to stop by to get a coffee break at a cafe here. But unfortunately, we couldn't find the cafe, so we settled for hot dog at the N1 gas station there. As usual, the gas station was surrounded by yet more amazing scenery. They even have outdoor tables for folks to soak in the scenery. The weather at that time was perfect: Sunny, with some fluffy clouds. Other than the scenery, some hotels and gas service here, there isn't really much else to do here. There is one attraction here called Kirkjugólf, but unfortunately, we couldn't locate that either. Based on pictures, it's basically just a floor of columnar basalt. So I guess we didn't really miss much. 

The awesome Icelandic hotdog. Enjoying it along with the view.

Enjoying ice cream in Iceland. Hey, someone had to do it. This was right outside the gas station.

Soaking in the scenery at the gas station. How often can you say that? The perfect weather definitely helped out too.

The last stop before Skaftafell was the amazing area around Foss á Síðu (Foss a Sidu) waterfall. The journey continued to be filled with lush greenery and tall cliffs.

Driving towards Foss a Sidu.

Tiny waterfall disappearing into thin air as it plunges down the cliff.

Foss á Síðu

Foss a Sidu was our first waterfall stop since Skógafoss. Once again, it is located conveniently off the Ring Road. Traffic usually (or should) slows down here due to lots of tourists crossing the road. Foss a Sidu gave an entirely different feel compared to Skogafoss. While Skogafoss felt raw and powerful, Foss a Sidu felt more gentle, pleasing and inviting, probably because the waterfall is located just next to a farm house and is much smaller in size. The waterfall plunges down from a very interesting bowl shaped cliff top. Just a very short drive further east is the scenic stop of Dverghamrar. (Less than a minute away). It has some interesting columnar basalt formations there as well as some folklore tied to it (Dverghamrar means Dwarf Cliffs). It is a short walk down to the rock formation from the parking lot. You get amazing views of the farm land and the surrounding expanse from there.

First sight of Foss a Sidu. It flows out from some very interesting bowl shaped like topography. Right under it is some farm house.

We parked our car at the side of the Ring Road. The weather was just perfect then.

Looking west from Foss a Sidu. I was blown away by the amazing lighting.

Looking east from Foss a Sidu. The Ring Road leads to the Dverghamrar scenic point.

More of Foss a Sidu before leaving.

Next up was Dverghamrar.

Amazing view looking west from Dverghamrar. It was a rare sight indeed to see such fine weather.

Took a quick money shot of the area before leaving. That's pretty much it. Unless you're really into columnar basalt rock formations, you won't be spending that much time here. And that's Foss a Sidu in the background.

Next up: Glacier hike!