Skaftafell

Skaftafell is where a lot of people finally stop driving and start walking. You've been watching glaciers from the car window since Vík, and here, at last, there's a proper trail, a glacier tongue ten minutes from the car park and a waterfall hanging off a wall of black basalt columns. Put your boots on.

Skaftafell is a former national park, founded in 1967, that is now part of Vatnajökull National Park in South Iceland. It sits on a green slope between two outlet glaciers, Skaftafellsjökull and Morsárjökull, with the sands of Skeiðarársandur stretching out below. There's a visitor centre open all year, a large campsite and a web of trails from easy strolls to long mountain days.

Tours that visit Skaftafell

Skaftafell Blue Ice Cave & Glacier Hike Tour

4 hours · From Skaftafell

4.5(158)

From 21.990 ISK

Crevasse Labyrinth - A Glacier Maze in Skaftafell

4 hours and 10 minutes · From Skaftafell

4.5(29)

From 17.090 ISK

Skaftafell 3 Hour Glacier Walk

3 hours · From Skaftafell

From 17.900 ISK

Glacier Beyond: Remote Two-Glacier Hike from Skaftafell

5 hours and 30 minutes · From Skaftafell

From 26.990 ISK

Skaftafell Glacier Adventure

4 hours and 30 minutes · From Skaftafell

From 23.400 ISK

Glacier Hike Captured in Skaftafell

3 hours · From Skaftafell

From 19.000 ISK

The Svartifoss hike in Skaftafell

Svartifoss, the Black Waterfall, is the reason most people come. It's not tall or powerful. What makes it is the frame: dark hexagonal basalt columns hanging over the drop like organ pipes. The trail starts at the visitor centre and climbs steadily through low birch woods, past a couple of other waterfalls on the way. The park lists the Svartifoss circle at about 5.8 km and roughly two hours; it's rated easy, but there's a proper uphill at the start. Most people take one and a half to two hours with photo stops.

Keep going past Svartifoss if you have the legs. The Sjónarnípa trail, rated challenging and around two to two and a half hours, climbs to a viewpoint over Skaftafellsjökull that's one of the best glacier views you can get without crampons. For the really fit, Kristínartindar is a full day in the mountains.

Glacier walks at Skaftafell

The easy walk to the front of Skaftafellsjökull takes about an hour to an hour and a half there and back on a flat path. It'll show you how fast the glaciers are shrinking: signs mark where the ice used to reach.

To actually walk on a glacier you need a guide. Guided glacier hikes leave from Skaftafell most of the year, onto Falljökull and other nearby outlet glaciers, with crampons, helmet and ice axe included. In winter the same operators run ice cave tours into Vatnajökull's outlet glaciers, roughly November to March when the caves are safe.

Pro tip: do Svartifoss first thing in the morning. The glacier tours meet at the visitor centre around mid-morning and the trail fills up fast. If you're on the path by eight, you'll have the columns mostly to yourself, and you'll be back in time for an afternoon glacier walk.

How to get to Skaftafell from Reykjavík

Skaftafell is roughly 330 km east of Reykjavík on the Ring Road, around four to four and a half hours' drive. Kirkjubæjarklaustur is about 70 km to the west and Jökulsárlón less than an hour east, so it's a natural overnight stop on a south coast trip. Parking is paid through the national park. In winter the trails can be icy and the road exposed to strong wind; check road.is and safetravel.is, and carry microspikes if you plan to hike.

Best time to visit Skaftafell

June to September is best for hiking: the trails are clear, the birch is green and you've got long evenings. Winter is quieter and the ice caves are open, but daylight is short and Svartifoss can freeze into columns of ice, which is a sight on its own.

The tours on this page are mostly glacier hikes and ice cave tours that start in Skaftafell. Tours that include Skaftafell are below.