other · Iceland · West
On the route
- Time needed
- 1–6 h
- Price
- Free — No charge to drive the fjord road; trailhead parking terms at Glymur were not readable on an official page on 2026-11-01.
- Season
- Year-round on road 47; the Glymur path is described by the regional office as dangerous in winter.
- Access
- Road 47 round the fjord, the old line of the Ring Road before the tunnel; the Glymur trailhead is at the head of the fjord in Botnsdalur.
- Checked
- 1 November 2026
64.385, -21.310 · Iceland
Hvalfjörður
Photograph: The head of Hvalfjörður with the Botnsdalur valley and steep basalt walls — Steinninn / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0 (CC BY 4.0)
Hvalfjörður is the long fjord the Ring Road now skips by tunnel. Road 47 still runs all the way round it, and two things make the detour worth planning: the path to Glymur waterfall from the head of the fjord in Botnsdalur, and the Hvammsvík hot springs on the south shore. Botnsdalur is about 71 km from central Reykjavík and about 52 km from Borgarnes (OSRM on OpenStreetMap), so the fjord fits a Reykjavík–Borgarnes travel day if you give up the tunnel.
Visit West Iceland describes the Glymur walk as about four hours return from the trailhead at the Botnsá river, with a river crossing on a placed log, and warns that in winter the path can be dangerous and that proper equipment and hiking experience are essential. Hvammsvík, on the southern shore, publishes its own hours: daily 10:30 to 20:30 with last entry at 19:00.
There is no fuel in the fjord itself; fill up in Mosfellsbær on the way out of Reykjavík or in Borgarnes. Road 47 is narrow in places with blind bends, and Borgarnes to Reykjavík via the head of the fjord takes about 40 minutes longer than the tunnel route.
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What you can do from Hvalfjörður
- Glymur waterfall hike in Hvalfjörður
About four hours return from Botnsdalur to the rim of a gorge with a high waterfall, river crossing on a log; summer only in practice, 70 minutes from Reykjavík.
hike · Iceland4–4.5 h · Price not publishedadds 4 h 45 to a day - Hvammsvík hot springs in Hvalfjörður
Eight natural pools on a tidal shore 45 minutes from Reykjavík, daily 10:30–20:30, from age 10; bus-and-entry from 14,999 ISK, entry-only price to check.
lagoon / hot spring · Iceland1.5–2.5 h · Price not publishedadds 4 h 20 to a day
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