Private Bespoke Glacier Lagoon Tour
14 hours · From Reykjavík
From 314.900 ISK
South Iceland
Fjaðrárgljúfur
You walk up the rim path expecting a nice canyon. Then you reach the first viewpoint and look down 100 metres into a twisting green gorge, moss on every ledge and a thin river snaking along the bottom, and you understand why the Environment Agency had to close the place for a while.
Fjaðrárgljúfur (anglicised as Fjadrargljufur, and nobody expects you to pronounce it) is a canyon about 2 km long and up to 100 metres deep in South Iceland, near Kirkjubæjarklaustur on the Ring Road. The river Fjaðrá carved it out of old rock, much of it palagonite, as glacial meltwater poured off the highlands at the end of the last ice age. The result is a canyon of fins and pillars that looks like it was designed.
Tours that visit Fjaðrárgljúfur
What to see at Fjaðrárgljúfur
The rim trail runs up the eastern side of the canyon, with a string of viewing platforms looking down into the gorge. It's about 20–40 minutes one way at a relaxed pace, gently uphill, and ends at a platform facing Mögáfoss, a waterfall pouring into the top of the canyon. You come back the same way. Allow about an hour in total.
The views change as you climb. Near the bottom the canyon is narrow and deep in shadow; higher up it opens out and you can see the river bend back and forth between the rock fins below you. On a still day it's very quiet. On a windy day, hold on to your hat and your phone.
Why Fjaðrárgljúfur has been closed
Fjaðrárgljúfur went from a quiet local spot to one of the most visited places on the south coast after it appeared in a Justin Bieber music video in 2015. Visitor numbers roughly doubled in a year, people walked wherever they liked, and the moss along the edge was trampled to mud. In 2019 the Environment Agency of Iceland closed the canyon for several months to let it recover. Since then the path has been rebuilt, the edges roped off, and viewing platforms built so people stop wandering.
It can still close at short notice, especially in spring when the ground is soft from snowmelt and rain. Icelandic moss takes decades to grow back. Stay on the path, stay behind the ropes, and don't climb down into the canyon.
Pro tip: park and walk up in the late afternoon in summer. The low sun from the west lights the canyon walls, the day-tour traffic has thinned, and you can stop at Kirkjubæjarklaustur for dinner just down the road.
How to get to Fjaðrárgljúfur
The canyon is roughly 250 km from Reykjavík, about three and a half hours' drive, a few minutes up a side road off the Ring Road just west of Kirkjubæjarklaustur. The last stretch is gravel. There's a paid parking area and toilets at the start of the trail. In winter the side road and the rim path can be icy, and access may be closed; check safetravel.is before you go.
Only a couple of the tours on this page stop at Fjaðrárgljúfur, mostly private south coast tours with flexible stops. Tours that can include Fjaðrárgljúfur are below.