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| At the foot of Hengifoss (waterfall) looking toward Lagafljot (lake), with the Hallormsstadarskogar (national forest) in the background. |
The town of Egilsstadir is on the east side of Iceland, about 20 miles from the coast. We're running out of Iceland so we have to head south on Hwy 1 along the Lagarfljot (fiord lake) where legend has it the "Lagarfljot Worm Monster" resides. We looked for it but didn't see it.
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| Hengifoss |
Somewhere south of Egilsstadir is Eyjofsstadaskogur Forest, # 8. We didn't find it but did find the Hallormsstadarskogar, Iceland's largest stand of continuous forest - parts are dedicated national forests. It's a mix of conifers and birch. We stopped at several locations and found well-managed facilities, clean camp grounds, an arboretum, well defined trails and roads, a Christmas tree farm, interpretive signage (some in English), day cabins, picnic areas (with BB & tables), play fields (soccer, a.k.a. futebol?), streams, waterfalls, and palatial, clean restrooms. And there's a bonus: at the south end of the Lagarflot, and very close to camping sites, is Iceland's second highest waterfall - the beautiful Hengifoss.
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| Halsaskogur Forest, #9 |
A mile and half east of the coastal village of Djupivogur, we found Halsaskogur, Forest, #9 on our list. This forest has a lot of character. It's a mix of birch and conifers, meadows, beautiful cliff and rock formations, an amphitheater, farm ruins, a sheep's fold, picnic facilities, even a hidden cave used to evade "Turkish" pirates in the early 16th century. Halsaskogur was formally opened as an "Open" forest on June 21, 2008, by Kristjan Por Juliusson, a member of parliament.
Heading south to spend the night in a small town called HOF at the base of Vatnajokull, Europe's largest glacier and second largest national park (yes Iceland is considered part of Europe). The Vatna Glacier covers about 8% of Iceland.
Total miles traveled: 260 miles
Total miles traveled: 260 miles
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