Gjáin in Thjorsardalur area is a lovely lush little valley, full of twisting lava, otherworldy caves and spectacular waterfalls. Gjáin simply means rift, and it was a filming location in Game of Thrones. Lush greenery, waterfalls all around you and beautiful rock formations. Here we are located right by the central highlands of Iceland and one does not expect the landscape to be so breathtaking here.

Here I am late in the evening and the sun has started to disappear behind the nearby mountains

I love waterfalls and lucky for me I live in a country some say has more waterfalls than people 🙂

They come in all shapes and sizes and this is one of the most spectacular, Dynjandi waterfall. “Dynjandi meas “thunderous” in Icelandic and that´s exactly what this one is. It can be seen from miles away and the sound of the falling water is indeed thunderous

It is actually a series of waterfalls (7 in all) with a cumulative height of 100m (330 ft). There´s no wonder it´s called the jewel of the West fjords

Gjáin in Thjorsardalur valley is a pair of falls  within a lush garden paradise nestled within a rift zone. While the waterfalls themselves are attractive,  the rift zone setting is really beautiful in that it feels like you are entering a different place that contrasted from the typically dry and desolate desert highlands surrounding the area.

This is a lava area and the lava can take on such beautiful form. There are several lava caves in Gjáin and all over there is columnar basalt and volcanic tuff.

If you look closely to the left on the photo you can see people standing there on a cliff in red and blue jackets, that will give you a sense of scale

Djúpalónssandur beach is an awesome place, like so many other places on the Snæfellsnes peninsula. It is like stepping into a lava wonderland. The unique shapes of the lava is dominating the landscape around

This black pebble beach, which is supposedly haunted and houses an elf church (yes, we Icelanders still believe in elves 🙂 ), was the site of a shipwreck that took the lives of fourteen British sailors in 1948. You can still find rusted metal fragments from the accident scattered all over the beach as a reminder.

The Fjallabak Nature Reserve is one of my favorite places in Iceland. It is over 500 meters above see level and the land is mountainous, sculptured by volcanoes and geothermal activity, covered by lavas, sands, rivers and lake. The area is mostly undisturbed and because of the cold climate in the Nature Reserve the vegetation’s growing period is only about two moths every year and the formation of soil very slow so parts of the area my look just like the moon. But I love the desolate wilderness and tranquillity and the wide open spaces

This night was rather special. On one hand was a full moon shining bright, on the other you could still see the faint glow of the setting sun and in the middle was the northern lights. This is Iceland 🙂

This is late august and the nights are just getting dark enough for us to see the beautiful northern lights again. We have now many months of dark nights and short days ahead of us so this is just the beginning

I think waterfalls might outnumber people in the Westfjords, there seems to be another waterfall around every corner, Dynjandi waterfall is the biggest of them all and is for sure the jewel of the Westfjords. Dynjandi looks like a bridal veil – on top it is 30 meters (98 ft) wide and widens up to 60 meters (197 ft) at the bottom. Actually it´s a series of waterfalls, one after another, 7 in all and this is the top part we see here

Driving the twisting routes of Westfjord’s wind- and snow-whipped mountain passes can be hair-raising but it´s more than worth it

One of Iceland’s best kept secrets is undoubtedly the country’s north-west corner, usually known as the Westfjords. Isolation has preserved the region in relatively unspoiled wilderness. Largely uninhabited the Westfjords are a true Icelandic wilderness. 

To travel around the Westfjords you will for sure experience some horrible gravel roads with vertical cliffs on one hand and rocky beach on the other and it´s a good idea to drive a 4×4 jeep. Driving there is not for the faint hearted but you will be rewarded with beautiful sceneries like this one, called Keflavik where you will most likely be the only person around. You could stay there for days and still be the only person around

Fjaðrárgljúfur is a magnificent  canyon, about 100 meters (330 ft) deep and about two kilometres (1.2 miles) long. The canyon has sheer walls, and is somewhat serpentine and narrow. The bedrock in Fjaðrárgljúfur is mostly palagonite from cold periods of the Ice Age and is thought to be about two million years old.

There is a walking route along the eastern edge, and it is possible to walk up through the canyon, though then one must wade across the river few times, but it´s not deep

For those not scared of heights the view from one of those rock pillars down the canyon is majestic. You can see how tiny the two people standing there are compared to the surroundings. For those traveling the Icelandic south coast, don´t miss this

Landmannalugar is in the highlands of Iceland at the edge of a lava field, which was formed in an eruption around the year 1477. The area is known for its rich and colorful rhyolite mountains; painted yellow, golden, brown, grey, red and green. Rambling lava filds, blue mountain lakes and soothing hot springs

Right by the campsite you can enjoy a relaxing bath in a natural warm pool which was created when many hot and cold springs in the area combined and the small stream you cab see here is actually warm

I love this place and I try to go there every summer and spend a day hiking in the area