Iceland. Vatnajökulsþjóðgarður and Jökulsárlón

I look out of the bedroom window and all I see is snow!

But not for long. As we head towards the Skaftafell Nature Reserve the weather changes drastically and the snow completely disappears. That’s the beauty of Iceland!

The Skaftafell Nature Reserve is located within the Vatnajokull National Park which covers 13% of Iceland and is the largest national park in Western Europe.

We opt for the medium-paced 1.5 km trek which takes us up steep hiking trails to the Svartifoss, another impressive waterfall. Remember, this was the waterfall that inspired the Hallgrimskirkja church in Reykjavik.

Svartifoss

Further up the trail, the view is even more amazing.

About 40 minutes further east, we arrive at the magnificent Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon. This is truly stunning. (I seem to be saying this often). Quite unlike other lagoons, this one is formed of a huge block of ice that  keeps breaking off and forming smaller blocks of ice of all shapes and sizes. These blocks of ice eventually drift off to the sea.

An arctic seal swims close to the shore enjoying the attention, while arctic terns seem to be very comfortable perched on these massive blocks of ice.

We head back to the Klausturhof Guesthouse which is still covered in more ice! This is our fourth night and still no chance of seeing the Northern Lights Lights 🙁