Travel ideas for Iceland, created by local experts
The Rough Guides to Iceland and related travel guides
In-depth, easy-to-use travel guides filled with expert advice.
written by
Rough Guides Editors
updated 26.04.2021
On the Ringroad 75km west of Höfn and 55km east of Skaftafell, Jökulsárlón is a large, deep-blue lagoon between the nose of Breiðamerkurjökull and the sea. Formed after the glacier began shrinking rapidly in the 1940s, the lagoon is chock-full of smallish, powder-blue icebergs which have calved off Breiðamerkurjökull’s front and float idly in the lake as if performing some slow ballet. A large gravel hill has been created as a lookout point on the lakeshore; check iceberg ledges for basking seals.
Once you’ve seen the lagoon, make sure you cross the road and walk down to the black-sand beach. The seafront here is littered with transparent ice boulders, the remains of the icebergs which have washed down the 1km-long Jökulsár (Iceland’s shortest river) and into the sea – their weird, incredibly sculpted shapes are a striking sight on such a desolate shore.
Top image: Iceland, Jokulsarlon lagoon © Jan Miko/Shutterstock
