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Hiking Seyðisfjörður

June 3, 2017 By Talya Tate Boerner

For the past two days, John and I have been hiking Seyðisfjörður in the Eastfjords part of Iceland. Seyðisfjörður, a town of approximately 700, is nestled within a fjord surrounded by more waterfalls than you can conjure in your most spectacular dreams. If you follow my personal Facebook page, you may have waterfall fatigue from all the photos I’ve posted. In person, I’m convinced it’s impossible to suffer from such a thing. Each waterfall provides unique beauty. Each one is ever changing.

Mark Twain said, “You cannot surprise an individual more than twice with the same marvel.” While I’m not one to disagree with Mark Twain, I’d bet money he never traveled to Iceland.

Vestdalseyri / Vestdalur Valley

This time of year (technically summer), Iceland enjoys midnight sun. I haven’t seen a dark sky in nearly two weeks. The cool thing about this is night hiking. Sleep? We’ll do that later. We can cram lots more sights in with more daylight.

Twice, during night and morning, we’ve hiked around Vestdalur Valley. This northern part of the fjord is covered in ruins from the original settlement Vestdalseyri, once on the mail route between Seyðisfjörður and East Iceland. In 2004, workers found the remains of “Mountain Lady” (estimated to be thirty years old at her death) in a cave near one of the waterfalls, along with over four hundred pearls and Viking-age pins dated 940.

Vestdalur Valley is a place to take in breathtaking views. And it’s easy to feel like a kid again while exploring ruins, caves, and sunken spots in the mountainside. More than once, I was reminded of the gullies on Little River I explored a million years ago with my cousin and sister. We had a river (but no waterfalls), cockleburs (instead of moss), no sheep (but maybe a pig or two). And probably more than once we were Vikings or Indians or early explorers.

Hiking East Iceland

I think because I miss Lucy and Annabelle so much, I’ve begun communing with Icelandic sheep. They have so much personality. And the lambs are adorable!

“We should take two lambs home. One for Lucy and one for Annabelle,” I said only half joking.

“That’s just what we need. Pets for our pets,” John said full-on sarcastic.

Icelandic Sheep

Dvergasteinn / Dwarf Rock

I absolutely was not going to leave Seyðisfjörður without seeing the Dwarf Rock. And it took us quite some time to find it—part of two days. According to legend, this unusual rock was believed to be the site of prayers for local dwarfs. Originally, it was located on the South shore of the fjord near the church. When the local church was taken apart and relocated to the North side, the rock was left behind. But on the day when the church was finally rebuilt, the people looked across the fjord and saw a strange vessel sailing to the South shore. The dwarfs moved it to be near the original church again.

It is a very odd rock. And if it somehow moved across the fjord? Well, that’s a legendary feat for sure.

Dwarfs Rock

(Trying to locate it? The rock is near the shore in a farmer’s field. To get there by road, GPS coordinates = N65° 17′ 23.292″ W13° 55′ 46.280″. There’s a small, easily missed sign. You’ll climb a fence and walk several hundred yards to the water’s edge. It’s well worth it!)

It looks like a giant space sponge. Otherworldly, for sure.

Dwarfs Rock, Seydisfjordur Iceland

dwarf rock, east iceland

Tvísöngur

Even though the dwarf stone moved north, the South fjord offers much to see, too. We barely covered any of it.

Tvísöngur is a sound sculpture created by German artist Lukas Kühne. Five domes of varying heights and sizes provide incredible acoustic quality to correspond to traditional Icelandic harmony. What a striking thing to come upon while hiking Seyðisfjörður.

Sound Sculpture, hiking Seyðisfjörður

And yes, more waterfalls!

Hiking near seysidfjordur

The more I hang out in these fjords, the more magical all of it feels. I begin to look for elf houses among the small rocks and wedged between mossy crevices. Which stone is a doorway?

hiking iceland

Look at this next picture. See the square in the very center of the mountain?

mountain in Seydisfjordur, Iceland - hiking

See it?

I’ve decided that’s a button. Or a doorbell. For the trolls. Push the button to open the secret mountain passageway and enter the land of trolls.

Yup.

Don’t worry, we’re headed home to Fayetteville soon, and my blog will return from gnomes and trolls to grits and coneflowers. Normal stuff. Fair warning: there may be another Iceland post before I’m done though.

And if you find yourself driving the ring road in Iceland, be sure to spend time in SEYÐISFJÖRÐUR.

Hiking Iceland

Grace Grits and Gardening
Farm. Food. Garden. Life.

[tweetthis]Looking for breathtaking views + a bit of #hiking magic in #Iceland? Visit Seyðisfjörður #eastfjords #nature[/tweetthis]

Musical Pairing:
Mumford and Sons, Awake My Soul

Filed Under: Nature & Seasons, Travel Tagged With: Dwarfs' Rock, East Iceland, hiking, Iceland, Seyðisfjörður

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Comments

  1. Colene says

    June 3, 2017 at 8:00 pm

    Cool stuff there!

  2. creecy33bara says

    June 3, 2017 at 8:28 pm

    WOW!!!

  3. Trent Fleming says

    June 4, 2017 at 12:04 am

    Great traveling along with you! More posts please.

    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      June 5, 2017 at 1:03 pm

      Thanks, Trent! I’m glad you are enjoying Iceland.

  4. ianholl says

    June 4, 2017 at 8:28 am

    Great scenery! And a great post!

    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      June 5, 2017 at 1:03 pm

      Thank you!

  5. Dorothy Johnson says

    June 4, 2017 at 10:57 am

    Wish I could have gotten in your suitcase so I could have made these hikes with you. Love the dwarf rock. Abstract art in the wild. And yes, I can see there might be elf and fairy house, along with secret troll passages there.


Hi! I'm Talya Tate Boerner. Writer, Reader, Arkansas Master Naturalist / Master Gardener, Author of

THE ACCIDENTAL SALVATION OF GRACIE LEE (2016)

GENE, EVERYWHERE: a life-changing visit from my father-in-law (2020)

BERNICE RUNS AWAY (2022)

THE THIRD ACT OF THEO GRUENE (coming 2025)

Recent Ramblings:

  • Sunday Letter: May 4, 2025
  • Sunday Letter: Rainy Day Edition
  • Spiderwort: my love-hate relationship
  • Sunday Letter: March 23, 2025
  • Sunday Letter: March 16, 2025

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