Sam, I am: Iceland Day 4: Dramatic Skies, Waterfalls, Breiðdalsheiði Pass and Fjarðarheiði Pass

Route 95 the Road between Breiðdal and Skriðdal Valleys.

Day Four Route:
Höfn í Hornafirði to Egilsstaðir

Dramatic skies, fog, no rain and no sheep (they must have been hiding) was the fare for day four. We would travel from Höfn í Hornafirði to Egilsstaðir with a side trip to Seyðisfjörður. A 280 km trip with several waterfall stops.

Brunnhorn and Vestrahorn Mountains

Our first couple of stops were to view the beautiful Brunnhorn (locally known as Batman Mountain) and Vestrahorn Mountains along Route 1. The clouds and fog add a touch of drama to these mountains which are composed of iron and magnesium rich gabbro rock, leading to their dark and jagged appearance. Eystrahorn (no photo) across the bay from Brunnhorn and Vestrahorn is the third of ‘Horned’ mountains found on the Stokksnes and Hvalnes peninsulas in East Iceland. The trio of mountains dates back 8-11 million years. Unlike most mountains in Iceland, the horned mountains are composed of gabbro rock resulting from the slow cooling of the magnesium and iron-rich magma, trapped beneath the earth, forming a holocrystalline mass. These mountains are part of the Klifatindur mountain range. Most other mountains in Iceland are composed of basalt, or Landmannalaugar (rhyolite). I am still not going over to the 'dark side' with my geologist and geological engineering friends, no matter how much I loved Iceland's geology.

Brunnhorn Mountain (AKA Batman Mountain) with the "almost" visible batman symbol next to Vestrahorn Mountain

Fremstifoss and Skútafoss on the Þorgeirsstaðaá River

Fremstifoss on the Þorgeirsstaðaá River

Next up was a couple of waterfalls, along what was now an extremely wet trail with running streams from the several days of heavy rains. Fremstifoss waterfall is the first along the trail leading to nearby Skútafoss. They are located near the red chair and no we did not stop to photograph it. We have our own Canadian versions. It did bring a smile considering it was the stop with the most people that morning and everyone was having a fun.

At Fremstifoss, there are the remnants of a small power plant built in 1966 including a small dam on the Þorgeirsstaðaá River. Further up the river is Skútafoss, a double waterfall which based on research (once we got home) has an associated cave. We never walked all the way to it. We had inadvertently interrupted a call of nature and thought it was polite to make a strategic retreat and not cause the person any additional embarrassment. We are Canadian, and well there is a distinct lack of trees in the area. A little further up from Skútafoss, there is a third waterfall Innstifoss so this would be the perfect place for a stop with an easy hike during a road trip.

Skútafoss

Barkináfoss

Barkináfoss is a small waterfall located on the northern shore of Álftafjörður (swan fjord) of the East Fjords (Eastern Region) of Iceland. It's located between Höfn í Hornafirði and Djúpivogur (~22 km west of Djúpivogur).

Barkináfoss

Lighthouses

Streitisviti Lighthouse

Hvalnes Lighthouse

We made two quick lighthouse stops on day four, mostly to stretch our legs and enjoy the scenery. The lighthouses almost seem out of place for our day four travels due in part to the beautiful waterfalls, volcanic mountains, and dramatic skies that we encountered. Our first lighthouse stop was a bright orange lighthouse (Hvalnes Lighthouse) on the south coast on Cape Austerhorn. The views from near this lighthouse are magnificent. The second lighthouse was Streitisviti Lighthouse and once again lovely views, but the best views were up the road and around the corner enroute to Breiðdalsvík, a mere 10 kms from the Streitisviti Lighthouse.

Route 1 between Djúpivogur and Breiðdalsvík

Djúpivogur and Breiðdalsvík are two small fishing villages in the Southern East Fjords region approximately 60 km apart along route 1 with a combined population of ~500. The mountains between these two villages are breathtaking. Located near Djúpivogur is Mt. Búlandstindur; a 1069-meter-high basalt mountain approximately 8 million years "young" and situated between the bays of Berufjörður and Hamarsfjörður. Just outside of Breiðdalsvík is Meleyri, a beautiful long black sand beach. The mountains around Breiðdalsvík are also lovely surrounding the Breiðdalur valley.

Mt Búlandstindur from the Hamarsfjorður side

Mountains near Breiðdalsvík taken from Meleyri Beach

Breiðdalsvík taken from Meleyri Beach with Mt Snæhvammstindur in background

Route 95 or Route 1

Views from Route 95 in the Breiðdalur

Route 1 takes you along the coast with small towns and fjords. Route 95 tranverses Breiðdalur Valley, the largest valley in the East Fjords region. Hubby decided to do planning and as we passed Djúpivogur, he stated we will be taking Route 95 and to be honest I had done minimum research for the day's trip. Not sure if that was my first mistake as I normal do most of the planning but off we went along Route 95. The valley is incredibly beautiful and was a change of scenery from the coast that we travelled for the last couple of days. The Breiðdalur Valley is covered is grassy thus making the area perfect for sheep farms, of which there were several, but I guess the sheep were hidden away that day (not complaining).

Fell Horse Rental is along Route 95, and we had a short stop while horses were herded across the road. This was the first people we encountered since turning off onto the route 95, 5 kms back. The next time we would see anyone was as we were starting to transverse the mountain pass Breiðdalsheiði, ~30 kms later. So, this route is not well travelled, and it may be because at ~15 kms, it became a reasonably groomed gravel road with some potholes. This was unexpected as during our trip planning most information had stated that 2-digit roads (95) were paved and well-maintained roads. My second mistake may have been to suggest we keep going rather than turn back unless the road got worse, it didn't. We have sections of paved roads in Newfoundland and Labrador that are in worse shape that this one and the scenery was incredible, so we continued.

Western Mountains in Breiðdalur Valley

View of North-Eastern Side of Breiðdalur Valley

Last Stop before Breiðdalsheiði Pass Complete with a Switch Back, No Guard Rails and Dense Fog

The last stop before we traversed Breiðdalsheiði Pass was also our last chance to safely turn around. While I was not driving, it was still nerve racking being a passenger. The rock road wasn't bad, but the dense fog combined with a switch back and no guard rails was the scary part. Of course, you didn't appreciate the impact the fog was going to have traversing the Breiðdalsheiði Pass at this spot. If we had, we may have turned back, I am glad we didn't. As we neared the foggy part, we passed a a car with the passenger filming or live streaming their trip down the Breiðdalsheiði Pass. Once we reached the summit and started down the valley to Egilsstaðir, the fog lifted and the skies slowly lighted. I must admit the Breiðdalur Valley portion was much more beautiful than the rest of the trip to our hotel in Egilsstaðir from Breiðdalsvík. Or maybe it was that the adrenalin rush had dissipated.

Enroute to Egilsstaðir from the Breiðdalsheiði Pass

Fjarðarheiði Pass to Seyðisfjörður

After a quick check-in at our hotel, we went to Seyðisfjörður, through the Fjarðarheiði Pass. The Fjarðarheiði Pass was still foggy but not as dense fog as was in the Breiðdalsheiði Pass. Not unlike a normal early morning trip out around the bay in Newfoundland and Labrador. The road was paved and had guard rails. We did a quick walk in the picturesque village of Seyðisfjörður which is the closest Icelandic port to the Faroe Islands and Europe. Enroute back we stopped at Gufufoss Waterfall. The route to Seyðisfjörður has several lovely waterfalls, coupled with the numerous hiking trails in the Egilsstaðir area makes this a good area for a multiday stop.