Day 8: Myvatn, Part 2 : Hverfjall, Dimmuborgir, Godafoss

Route :
Local roads in and around Myvatn; then 848 back to Ring Road until we hit Godafoss.

Campsite : Fossholl Guesthouse
After lunch in the parking lot at the Lava Fields, we headed out for Day 8, Part II.
So we headed for Hverfjall Crater - our second crater climb of the day. You can see the trail up to the rim in this photo.
We tried to stop at Grjótagjá lava cave on the way to the crater, which is a cave with a natural underground thermal pool that used to be a popular hot pot site (bathing is no longer allowed because the water has become too hot). We decided to give it a hard pass when we saw the number of cars and tour buses in the parking lot. I can't even stand to be in a crowded elevator, so being crammed into an underground site with half a million other people is not up this claustrophobic introvert's alley. So we took a few photos of the surrounding area - this colorful mountain above stands prominently to the north of Hverfjall, and to the southwest of Krafla - and I'll be damned if I can find a name for it anywhere. So I don't know what it's called, or if you can get to it. Apologies - blame Google. From here, we headed for Hverfjall, and prayed it wouldn't rain.
Slogging up the side of Hverfjall with the rest of the herd.
The rim of Hverfjall gives up a spectacular view of Lake Myvatn (which means "midge lake" - apparently in the summer months, this place is infested with tiny, biting flies; we never saw a single one in mid-September). Like Krafla crater, you can hike the entire rim of Hverfjall, too.

The walk around Hverfjall was easier than the walk up - and the scenery was off the hook. Autumn was in full swing.
It's impossible to overstate how incredible the landscape is in Myvatn. It's easy to see why it's one of the most popular spots in the country. This area is easily worth 2-3 days if you want to properly explore everything. I would've liked another day here.

In the photo above, kind of nestled in between the two big plumes of steam is a smaller little splotch of steam. That is Myvatn Nature Baths - a man-made lagoon filled with geothermally heated water directly from the nearby Bjarnarflag power plant. It's similar to the much more well-known (and much more expensive, and much more crowded) Blue Lagoon, which is conveniently located between the airport and Reykjavik. While the Myvatn Nature Baths may be cheaper and less crowded, it's still expensive and crowded. Just less so. An adult ticket will set you back about $50.
When we got back down to the parking lot, I had to pee. BAD. Now, you don't have to pay an entrance fee for Hverfjall, and you don't have to pay to park. But if you have to pee? Prepare to fork it over. Because there's a turnstile at the entrance to this bathroom, and you need a ticket to get through. To get the ticket, you must feed the machine on the wall - either cold, hard cash, or if, like me, you've left your coinage in the car? No worries. It takes plastic, too. I think it's probably the best view I've ever seen in a bathroom, paid for or not. Icelanders aren't big on privacy - but they sure are big on views.
From Hverfjall, we worked our way over to Dimmuborgir, which is an area of bizarre lava formations just down the road from the crater. You can actually see it from the crater rim if you have good weather. But first I had to stop and see the horses. Still no nose scritches allowed - but come on. Look at these beauties! And that backdrop is to die for.

So - back to Dimmuborgir. There's an extensive network of trails there, and they're color-coded based on difficulty and shown on a map as you enter the area. The adventurous side of me wanted to go all-in - but it was getting late in the afternoon, and we had been walking all day. So we opted for the easy trail and spent less time here than I would've liked. But it was kind of dreary, and it was trying to rain. So we walked around for awhile, and decided we should figure out if we were going to stay another night in Myvatn or just get a head start on the next day. We decided to had just a little further down the Ring Road and camp near Godafoss waterfall for the night.
Not far from the Myvatn area is Godafoss waterfall - which means "waterfall of the gods." This is sometimes referred to by locals as "the Beauty" to Dettifoss' "the Beast." And right across the street from the eastern access to the falls is Fossholl Guesthouse, which also has a small area for camping. We popped in, paid for a night, and found ourselves a dry, level spot for the night.
Fossholl Guesthouse was a nice place to stay. There were just two other vehicles in the campground that night - the facilities won't knock your socks off, but it's adequate and it's literally right across the street from Godafoss. You just check in at the house, pay your fee and go find a spot to park. Very peaceful and relaxing place to stay the night after an exhausting, steamy day of lava and craters.
All photos are © Sugarjets Studio - all rights reserved. Please don't steal them. Stealing is shitty.
Don't be shitty. And please don't make me be mean.