Discover South Iceland
Glaciers – Geysirs – Volcanoes – Mountains – Waterfalls

Towns : Vík in Mýrdalur

Vík in Mýrdalur is Iceland's most southerly village. Although this community of 600 inhabitants faces the open Atlantic, Vík is the only seaside settlement in Iceland left without a harbor due to natural circumstances. Nevertheless Vík's inhabitants go fishing with the help of their amphibious boats, which enable them to drive, literally, out to sea. The average precipitation in Vik is the highest in all of Iceland - which of course means that there is a lot of rain, snow, wind, sleet, hail and fog. This is however not always the case as the weather here changes very rapidly, the sun comes back out, and therefore rainbows are probably more frequent than anywhere else.

Places of Interest
The natural beauty of the area is spectacular. There are many places of interest in the vicinity of Vík. Just east of the village's outskirts lies one of Europe's biggest arctic tern breeding grounds. South of Vík is a beautiful beach, which the international ISLANDS Magazine named one of the world's ten best island beaches in 1991. A short hike within the close vicinity of Vík is sure to satisfy all serious nature lovers and bird watchers. To the south of Reynisfjall Mountain, a spectacular set of rock columns called Reynisdrangar rise majestically out of the Atlantic Ocean, and Hálsanefshellir

Fishing near Vik Just west of Vik, a dirt road turns into Heiðardalur, a beautiful valley concealing the beautiful crater formed Lake Heiðarvatn. The lake and emptying river Vatnsá teems with fish; salmon, sea-trout, char and brown trout of great size and quantity. Fishing here is however restricted to license holders only and violating these rules are seen as a serious offence and deemed with very high fines.

More Attraction 
Dyrhólaey, where the unique rock arch is found, is a 120-m-high promontory in the western part of the Mýrdalur district. Dyrhólaey is Iceland's most southerly tip. North of Vík rises the bulk of the 700 km2 Mýrdalsjökull glacier, Iceland's fourth largest. Approximately 600 meters below the ice lies the dormant sub-glacial volcano Katla. Katla is one of Iceland's most active volcanoes, and has on average erupted twice a century, the last occasion being in 1918.

On the south slopes of Reynisfjall can be found beautiful basalt-lava rock formations and sea-made caves. The historical palagonite mountains of Pétursey, Hjörleifshöfði and Hafursey stand towering over the surrounding black expanse. A valley glacier from Mýrdalsjökull, Sólheimajökull, marks the westernmost part of the district. The river Jökulsá on Sólheimasandur originates from hot springs beneath the glacier. The river's strong smell of sulphuric hydrogen sulphide has also earned it the name of Fúlilækur ("Stinky River").
Thakgil Thakgil is located between Höfðabrekkuafrétti and Mýrdalssandur. The name “Þakgil”, þak meaning roof and gil meaning canyon, and as the name suggests the weather is usually very good. On site, there are a lot of beautiful hiking routes fit for almost everyone. Camping site, bathrooms and shower are also available. The dining room is a naturally formed cave, and inside of it there is a grill and a fireplace. You can also drive up the Kerlingardalur canyon where the movie "Beowulf" was filmed. The views at the higher vantage points here are stunning.

Travel Services
Vík has good travel services and offers plenty of camping and hotel space. Among the many aspects of Vík that makes it attractive to tourists are the increasingly popular sea-and-land trips in the above-mentioned boats; sight-seeing flights; snowmobile trips, ice-climbing and dogsledding on the Mýrdalsjökull glacier; excellent salmon and trout fishing; horseback riding, a wool center, a fish farm/retail outlet of smoked salmon (arctic char in Fagridalur) to list a few. Few other places in Iceland offer as many contrasts of nature as Mýrdalur. The area is therefore an ideal place to visit for those travelers who want to enjoy good travel services and the best of what the country's natural environment has to offer.

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