Day Six - Exploring east Iceland
Where we stay put in Egilstaddir because of the weather.
The roads were closed towards Akureyri, which was to be our next destination. I had booked a hotel in Hjalteyri for the night, but due to the weather conditions, I was able to cancel our booking. . We had met a younger couple with a small baby who tried to make their way to Akureyri, got turned back and returned to the campsite for the night.
We enjoyed a lovely lazy day at the Egilstaddir campsite, which was a spacious, warm, clean and welcoming space with a well-stocked kitchen to make meals, and places to sit and eat. It is likely that it will get busy during high-tourism seasons, but as we were there in the shoulder season, we had the place largely to ourselves during the day. This was easily our favourite campsite during our stay
Hengifoss: Hengifoss is the third-highest waterfalls in Iceland. It was a lovely trail, uphill most of the way, but was quite muddy, icy and/or snow-covered for many parts of it. It took us a total of 90 minutes to complete. The trail to Hengifoss itself is an out-and-back trail leading off of the main trail. There had been some sort of landslide or something of the sort over part of this trail, which made the out and back trail feel more dangerous. Aman decided to stay put, so myself and another hiker (whose gf also decided to stay behind) happened to be the only ones that completed the trail to Hengifoss. The view was of a mostly-frozen waterfalls. There is something otherwordly about hiking alone through this landscape of snow and rock.
Seydisfjordur: The internet is raving about this little town near Egilstaddir, so we knew we had to check it out. What no one mentions though, is the hair-raising drive to the town - consisting primarily of sharp, hairpin turns and steep drops that we had to maneuvre in fog and falling snow that decreased visibility to only a few metres in front of us. All I could muster was to grip the sides of the car while Aman carefully maneuvered the van around one hairpin turn after another. Route 93, the highway connecting Seydisfjordur to Egilstaddir is one of the highest paved roads in Iceland, at an altitude of 600 m. Due to the weather, we couldn't take in much of the scenery, and we were also worried about driving back as it got darker.
The town is beautiful, and I can certainly see why a stop there is so highly recommended. Just be mindful of what it takes to get there!
We were anxious as we walked around the town as it was getting closer to sunset; we spent about 45 minutes exploring and then decided to drive back to camp.
For more on our Iceland Road Trip itinerary:
