South Coast,Iceland

After a super fantastic tour of the Golden Circle yesterday, Rajat and I are extremely excited for a mesmerizing day 3. Driving towards the south coast of Iceland,our first stop is at Seljalandsfoss. Foss is an Icelandic term for waterfall.

Seljalandsfoss is one of the best-known waterfalls inIceland. It is 65 meters tall is breathtakingly beautiful. The day windy with light showers and we are happy to be wearing quick dry clothing andwaterproof outerwear. A rain protector is a must for your phones here if you wish to capture some breath-taking images here. The most distinguishing feature of Seljalandsfoss is a pathway that stretches allthe way around it. The cliffs behind the falls have a wide cavern, and rocksand paths allow guests to fully encircle it. Prepare to get dampened due to theperpetual mist of the falls, which also tends to make the rocks of the pathways slippery. Nevertheless, we venture out and made our way behind the waterfall and the result is picturesque.

Returning to the car we dry ourselves and make hot tea in our flasks,drowning it into our throats to stay warm. Hands freezing and teeth chattering,we switched on the heater and took some deep breaths before on boarding towards our next stop.

The road inviting, the landscape breathtakingly and the drive comfortable . Soon we hit upon this unknown lake by the side of the road between the mountains. The view so spectacular that we stop to take some pictures here.In fact, I took off my shoes and went into the icy cold water for a perfect silhouette.

Next up is Skógafoss waterfall, another well-known waterfall in Iceland.Skógafoss is one of Iceland’s biggest and most beautiful waterfalls with anastounding width of 25 meters (82 feet) and a drop of 60 meters (197 feet). Dueto the amount of spray the cascade produces, at least one rainbow is presentany time the sun emerges from behind the clouds. The land underneath the waterfall was very flat, allowing us to walk right up to the wall of water.Skógafoss can also be viewed from the top as a steep staircase leads to an observational platform above the cascade.

Since we were close to winters, we decided to skip the puffin corridor (asthey are generally seen in summer) and head straight up towards Vik.

On the wayto Vik we made a stop at the black beach called Reynisfjara beach. With itsenormous basalt stacks, roaring Atlantic waves and stunning panoramas,Reynisfjara is widely considered to be the most beautiful example of Iceland’s black sand beaches. According to local Icelandic folklore, these large basalt columns were once trolls trying to pull ships from the ocean to shore. However,these trolls were dim and went out too late in the night; dawn broke on the horizon,turning the trolls into solid stone.

After taking a couple of pictures and capturing the waves in our minds, we head towards the fishing village of Vik where an ice cave tour is awaiting us. Quickly we got into our gears; orange helmet, shoe chains and hadone torch light each. It is now time to jump in a Super Jeep, step into the mighty glaciers and ice caves of South Iceland.

It has movie-like landscapesand jaw-dropping sights like nothing ever seen before. We hike out across theMyrdalsjokull glacier and then visit the amazing blue and black ice cave ofKötlujökull glacier on Mt. Katla. The caves were black covered with layers of black lava once erupted from the Icelandic volcanoes. The caves were slippery with ice cold water dripping everywhere. walking inside these super cold caves is an experience.

Tired and hungry we check into our hotel at Vik calling the day off with myriad landscapes, sights, colours and textures running fresh in our minds. Aday to be truly grateful for. And if you think we have seen enough, look what’s waiting for us tomorrow in my next post. Stay tuned.

Happiness and sunshine

Nidhi

More on Iceland

The Golden circle

The Jokulsarlon glacier

Reykjavik – the heart of Iceland

The black beach