Insight Guides: Pocket Iceland by Insight Guides

Author:Insight Guides
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Travel, Iceland
Publisher: Apa Publications
Published: 2016-12-21T05:00:00+00:00

Tiny Reykjahlíð at the northeast corner of Lake Mývatn has the most amenities, including the tourist office, which can arrange all manner of tours, and a small supermarket. The main sight in the village is its church, which is surrounded by hardened lava. A major eruption in 1729 brought lava streaming down from the hills. While it obliterated nearby farmland, it miraculously skirted around the church. Tradition says it was the power of prayer that protected it, although the walls around the cemetery may have helped.

There is plenty of evidence to indicate just how close the geothermal activity is to the surface in this part of Iceland – you may well see gases rising from fissures in the lava around Reykjahlíð. Heading clockwise around the lake, you can sample geothermally-baked hverabrauð (see box) at the popular Cowshed Café (Vogafjós; www.vogafjos.is; daily 10am–10.30pm), which backs onto a milking shed, so you can watch the working life of the farm while you eat. Slightly set back from the shore road, the hot springs at Storagjá can be reached via a ladder and rope. The springs have cooled and become infested with algae, which dissuades most potential swimmers. Nearby, another spring Grjótagjá suffers from the opposite problem – it is too hot for most people, but is well worth a look as it’s inside a naturally formed cavern in the lava.

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