Fjaðrárgljúfur

Fjaðrárgljúfur is a short detour that costs more time than it looks. The turn onto route 206 is just west of Kirkjubæjarklaustur; the last stretch is gravel and the car park is at the canyon mouth, so the whole stop, drive-in, rim walk and drive-out, is an hour to an hour and a half. On a Vík-to-Höfn day that is the difference between reaching Jökulsárlón in daylight and not, so decide in advance.

The practical line, from parka.is today: the car park is charged per vehicle class, 1,000 ISK for a car up to five seats, 1,300 for six to nine, 400 for a motorcycle, valid for the calendar day from midnight, plus an 89 ISK transaction fee. Payment is due within 24 hours of leaving or a late fee is added. There is a toilet block; no fuel, no food. Kirkjubæjarklaustur, ten minutes east, has both.

The rim path climbs gently to a series of fenced platforms. The Environment Agency closes it in the spring thaw and after heavy rain because the moss on the rim does not recover from boots, and those closures are enforced; the sign at the car park and the ranger decide, not the weather app. Stay inside the fences, which exist because the canyon lips are undercut.

Quietest before 09:00 and in the evening; it is a mid-morning coach stop between Vík and Skaftafell. In winter the road is often drifted and the path is iced, so plan it as a summer stop.