Because of stunning Icelandic glacier lagoon photos on the internet, our traveling appetite started longing for Iceland trip. At this moment, we still couldn’t believe that we finally made it! It was our third day in Iceland and counting more… How about our second day? Click here to know our waterfall journey yesterday.
Check out moments of third day in the video below– we guarantee that you’ll adore the sunset in glacier lagoon Fjallsárlón.
Hike and Seek in Southwest Vatnajökull, Iceland
Day 3: Exploration in South Iceland
Woke up by the warmth of sunshine was really the best thing. To make our start even more perfect, we enjoyed our breakfast while watching glacial mountains.

Skaftafell area gracefully laid in between iceberg mountain Skeiðarárjökull and Öræfajökull. Splendid location is one thing, but also compliment by information office, glacier walk tour office, and also easy access bus stop, parking lot, and hiking trails starting point.
After morning chit chat with friendly Canadian couple, we drove one stone away to Vatnajökulsþjóðgarður (Vatnajökull National Park) information office for souvenir hunting and planning the fittest hiking route. We chose to visit Svartifoss, a basalt columns waterfall, then continued to viewpoint Sjónarnipa. Packed with hiking routes map, sandwiches for lunch, water, and a joyful heart, our journey started. Following route S2, an easy track towards Svartifoss, we let ourselves go with nature’s gift.
Just when we felt like we were on top of the world, we saw Svartifoss from far away with one way down towards it. Screaming for an oasis, we hustled. Bigger steps, faster pace, gasping for breath… and eventually our body were recharged by Svartifoss water splash and our sandwich.

It was the time to kick some ash again. We climbed on route S6 in direction to Sjónarnipa. Can you guess what we saw along the trek? Here are some sneak peek for you!
Dry mouth. Shivering legs. Facing stingy sunray. No cloud, no shadow. Exhausted. Isolated. We only saw horizon and icebergs in far away. We found anymore path. This must be it.
Sjónarnipa, a secluded edge in Skaftafell. I must tell you that this place is very dangerous! Once you hypnotized by its view, you will never ever ever want to go.

We had our moment of the day: having afternoon tea – forget about the delicious yet sinful butter cake – while sitting on the cliff rocks of Sjónarnipa. Later on, my husband challenged himself to photograph in the edge of the cliff.
Sjónarnipa showed off her beauty!
I saw a busy guy going back and forth with his tripod all the time. I offered my helping hand to him, which he agreed in delight. It’s like Pursuit of Happiness comes to life. Spreading good deeds starts the circle of happiness.
Hereafter, that tripod-guy offered American couple to take their picture, and so on. See? Kindness and generosity are kind of contagious disease that the whole world should have. No more selfie-stick, just a smile from a stranger saying, ‘1,2,3, cheese!’

It was 16:00 – meaning let’s kick some ash again! The best thing about hiking was going down after climbing. We walked back to start point via hiking route S5 and S6 with different scenic view. Don’t forget to stop in Hrútagil; that will please your eyes with its fine view.
To make a long story short, we reached the finish line at 17:30. We felt bone weary already. The show must go on. Wearily we continued the journey and admired fancy lupine fields on the way to Hofskirkja – well known as turf church.
With respect, this building is the last turf church build in Icelandic ancient architectural style. Despite constructed in 1884, its turf style (well covered roof by moss and grass) is still preserved well thanks to the National Museum.
The sun transposed church’s grass roof into a mystical golden carpet. Its shine passed through the branches and leaves creating remarkable ray of lights. Its beam fell to the mounds in a perfect angle, invented exquisite shadow for artistry even more. Absolutely the moment we were longing for.

Thenceforth, we were on the road again searching for nearby rest area. We want to have dinner with a view, luckily we got one! Heaven on Earth called Kvíamýrarkambur.
Aside a caravan, an old German man in his seventies greeted us, ‘sit here and look over there. You see the sunset behind the iceberg. Just over there.’ He relaxed on leisure bench and covered in a warm blanket. His wife came with wine and cheese. What a perfect pension time, right?
Hidden gem Kvíamýrarkambur is situated outskirt ring road 1. Look for a sign before reaching Fjallsárlón. A perfect place to witness sun setting down and hiding behind icebergs.
It was not the end of the day yet. Our original plan was going to Jökullsárlón that evening, but we distracted by another glacier lagoon namely Fjallsárlón. We turned left from ring road 1 to the gravel road to Fjallsárlón.
Beaming at the glacier lagoon, one of the reasons we flew to Iceland, lifted our energy up again.
Like love at the first sight, it’s too late to hold back because this place stole our hearts. The scenery was extraordinarily odd; tranquil as well as vivid in the same time. The ice-covered volcano Öræfajökull was smoothly reflected on the surface of the lake among movement of white and turquoise blue ice blocks.
I gotta be honest, I’m running out of words to describe how amazing Fjallsárlón was. Here are just a tiny bit of Fjallsárlón magical charm.
It was hardly any wind and sound, profoundly silent, which is very understandable. Fjallsárlón enchantment made us inevitably hold our breath. Like a busy bee, we were totally lost track of time due to William’s project. It was worth a dime! I’ll leak some here 🙂
Cinderella needs to leave the royal ball at 00:00. We decided to do so, to get some rest. In contrary, Godmother Earth wanted the opposite. Suddenly, a stunning Fjallsárlón midnight sunset hypnotized us, so we didn’t want to leave this place at all.

The clock was ticking so fast and we surprised it was 02:30 am already! In the end, we slept in the car watching the glacier lake at sunset changed into the sunrise from inside the car. No dark to meet, our body has been fooled. They thought it was still daytime.
Although we were extremely exhausted, our eyes couldn’t close because of the panorama and, of course, the cold. Fellow travelers, prepare your warmest blanket in the car on your road trip!
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