Stuðlagil Canyon
Stuðlagil Canyon has soared in popularity for its towering basalt columns with blue water that is reminiscent of a Cool Blue Gatorade. Located in Eastern Iceland, this spectacle was unearthed when the dam Kárahnjúkavirkjun was created in 2009, lowering the river water to reveal the columns.
Getting there
There are two ways to access the canyon- through Farm Klaustursel and Farm Grund. Farm Klaustursel allows you to walk down to the river and fully take in the canyon. Farm Grund only allows you to view the canyon and river from a platform above.
To get to the Farm Kalustursel entrance, drive on the Ring Road/Route 1 from Egilsstaðir to Route 923, and off of Route 923 on your left there will be a road for the Farm. All of the information I found for getting here seemed a little outdated because from what I could find, it said you had to park at Farm Klaustursel and then walk, but it turns out you can park at the waterfall Stuðlafoss to make it a shorter walk, and indeed drive over the bridge. From the Farm Klaustrel to Stuðlafoss it is about 2km, and then another 2km to the canyon. So total about 8km roundtrip from Farm Klaustursel to the canyon and back. Bear in mind that if you walk from the Farm to the waterfall, there will be cars driving along the dirt road. We got a bit dusty!
If you’re starting in Egilsstaðir, to get to Platform B one would also drive on the Ring Road/Route 1 until you reach Route 923, and drive past Farm Klaustursel until you reach Farm Grund. The platform has a bunch of steps leading down to it, and it does not give you a good view of the canyon.
The canyon
It was busy when we went, and there were people of all ages there. It does not require hiking shoes though they may be more comfortable on the walk to/from the canyon. There is no shade on the dirt road, but once you are in the canyon you can sit in the shadows of the basalt columns, and take a dip if the water is calm enough. The water does have a current, so you should be a strong swimmer. While it is super neat to be down in the riverbed, you can also view it from above. There are some paths that will give you a good view point to walk along the river up top, and off of the primary walking path.
