Asbyrgi Canyon is one of the best attractions on the Diamond Circle route in North Iceland. Hope you find this Photo Essay inspirational and useful to plan your trip to Asbyrgi canyon, whether just for a visit, or to camp on the canyon grounds, and best, to hike it.
Asbyrgi Canyon is very accessible from both Akureyri, the biggest town in North Iceland and Husavik. We drove to it from Myvatn after a short detour to Dettifoss, Europe’s largest waterfall in the area. When we visited it in summer time, it felt untouched by tourists. It is best to have a rented car or campervan to come here, though many tours from Akureyri would cover Asbyrgi Canyon. We had rented a car for our epic 12 days Iceland ring road itinerary and found it easy to drive down to Asbyrgi from Myvatn.
Information and Folklore about Asbyrgi Canyon in North Iceland
Asbyrgi Canyon in North Iceland is part of Vatnajokull national park, the largest national park in Iceland. It is a part of Jokulsarlon national park, which itself has been swallowed by the ever-growiig Vatnajokull natioinal park.
When you hike the rim, the canyon feels vast. And the cliffs that are 100 metres high provide a stunning panoramic view of the canyon floor filled with trees and vegetation, and the surrounding areas.
The visitor centre at Asbyrgi has an excellent information area, and I urge you to spend 20-30 minutes there. The canyon formation was a result of the eruption of one of the Vatnajokull volcanoes. How the canyon got shaped by geological forces is explained a bit in the information centre.
The legend of mythological god Odin, as part of Icelandic folklore, is also quite interesting.
As per the myth, Sleipnir, Odin’s 8-legged horse, accidentally touched the ground and created Asbyrgi Canyon. Hence, the memorable horse-shoe shape!
The canyon has a large camping ground that is completely free of charge. We saw a few camper vans parked there.
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Hiking options at Asbyrgi Canyon in North Iceland
The well-informed staff at visitor centre gave us all possible options for hiking trails at the canyon. If you are not interested in hiking, you can drive on the road that gets into the canyon floor. There is a car park ahead, and after a short stroll, you would come upon the pond (Botnstjorn Pond) at the very end of the canyon.
You cannot miss a massive rocky monolith structure in the middle of the canyon, it is named Eyjan. The staff informed us that this is a very easy hiking option. It would take just an hour and the views are great despite the ease of the trail. If you are short on time or fitness, this would be a great option.
We visited on a bright sunny day, perfect for hiking. So we took the advice to do the Asbyrgi Trail to hike the rim of the eastern side of the canyon. This is a little over 8-km loop to go furthest on the rim and come back the same way. We did this trail in about 3.5 hours at a moderate pace and stops to relax and take photos. Very different experience from our Glymur waterfall experience as part of our West Iceland itinerary.
The staff informed us that we could always extend the hike, by following the Asbyrgi / Klappir trail initially and then heading towards Jokulson river so as to not take the same route back. This would be a 12 km trail.
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Photo Inspiration: Start of the Asbyrgi Canyon hike
The staff at visitor centre pointed the direction of the trailhead, close to the centre. There is a car park right opposite the visitor centre. We took our rain jackets and water bottles and off we went.
The trail is marked and well maintained.
And then the path on the canyon floor was going into thicker vegetation. We saw a choice to use ropes and ladder to climb a section on our left.
The cliffs of the canyon are 100 metres high and the views are just stunning.
Photo Inspiration: Why Asbyrgi trail is a great hiking option?
The Asbyrgi Canyon trail gives you panoramic views, makes you appreciate how massive and dramatic this canyon in North Iceland is.
And the area is beautiful all around. On one side is rocky ground and the other side, drop to the canyon floor.
We set off at a moderate pace. The trail is well-maintained, mostly flat and easy to hike. Much easier than the cliff-hugging climb we did on the hike to Glymur waterfall in Snaefellsnes Peninsula. We saw a clearing for campsite on the canyon floor below and the road winding to it.
Soon, we could see the Botnstjorn Pond at the far end of the canyon floor.
Be very careful at the cliff edges here. It can get very windy and not advisable to go to the very edge.
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Photo Inspiration: Hike back the same way
This route retraces the steps back. As I mentioned earlier, there are longer routes that you can take to come back and decide even after reaching here.
There was a path to a small pond that we crossed on our way to this viewpoint. We decided to explore it on our way back.
Our walk back was much quicker with less stops for photos. And soon, we came upon the point to climb down. My husband decided to walk ahead, there is a longer winding path that takes you down without this need for ladders and ropes.
Have I convinced you to put Asbyrgi Canyon on your Diamond Circle North Iceland itinerary? And hike the rim for lovely landscapes. Perfect for a bright sunny day.
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