Skaftafell Vatnajokull National Park

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Skaftafella is the country's favorite wilderness according to Lonley Planet. The history of Skaftafella was a farm at the foot of the hills. Shifting glacial sands slowly buried the fields and forced the farm to relocate. The farms were wiped out after the 1362 eruptions and the land became known as "land under the sands"! The area is home to several beautiful hiking trails and waterfalls.

Svartifoss is known as the Black Falls. It is a gloomy waterfall surrounded by black basalt columns.

Sjonarnipa is another hike overlooking the Skaftafellsjokull glacier.

There is an interesting and quite tragic story that took place here in the national park. I read about it in the information center. The story is about two undergraduate students from the University of Nottingham in 1953 who set out exploring and gathering information in the national park. A storm came through that lasted 10 days after the two embarked on a hike up the peaks of Orfajokull glacier. The boys were never located after the 10 days, not even any human remains. However, in 2006, hiking equipment and clothing items were discovered. It is believed that these items belonged to the boys. Jack Ives, at the age of 21, was the leader of this expedition. He has since lead several expeditions and has become quite the leader in his field of studying glaciers. Skaftafell in Iceland, a book written by Jack Ives, mentions this tragic tale.

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Photos

Svartifoss
Besutoful 1.8 Km hike from the base.

Skaftafellsjokull Hike
This short 0.3 off of the main trail was quite the trek of elevation. The top overlooks the huge glacier in Vatnajokull National Park.

Kellie and Abby
Checking to make sure we are on the right trail.

Display About the Boys
Here tells the story of the lost boys and the display case holds the hiking equipment found in 2006.

Boys Clothing
Here displays the boys clothing that was found in 2006 with the equipment.