Iceland in Winter – East

In East Iceland, we saw the Crystal Ice cave inside Vatnajökull glacier, Fjallsárlón glacier lagoon and Diamond Beach, Vestrahorn mountain and the more jagged coastal peak of Eystrahorn. We were fortunate to see the Aurora Borealis in the fishing village of Djupivogur, and we visited the incredibly beautiful East Fjords, and were blessed with an amazing lake sunset in Egilsstadir.

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Glacier lagoons such as Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon are lakes that form at the base of glaciers, particularly when they are retreating. This lagoon, formed by the meltwater of an outlet of Vatnajokull Glacier, formed about 1935 and has been growing rapidly in response to rising temperatures. It is the deepest lake in Iceland and filled year-round with icebergs which calve from the glacier’s tip.

When the icebergs finally make it across the lagoon, they either drift out to sea or wash up on the nearby shore. Because of the way they glisten against the black volcanic sands, this area has been nicknamed Diamond Beach. Eystri-Fellsfjara is the real name of the beach.

We started our next day at the famous Vestrahorn mountain in Stokksnes. Although the weather wasn’t great and the clouds weren’t cooperative, it was still a lovely sight to see and photograph with the black sand beach and interesting haystack-looking dunes in the foreground.

At the far end of a long, black sandy beach is the sister mountain, Eystrahorn, which is extremely steep and almost impossible to climb. We were treated to an amazing sunset that evening. In Iceland, because of its northerly location, sunsets during the winter can last for close to 90 minutes.

After the incredible sunset and a delicious evening meal at our hotel in the fishing village of Djupovigur, we were treated to the awe-inspiring aurora borealis over a nearby lake.

Djúpivogur is a small fishing village located next to the picturesque fjord of Hamarsfjörður in East Iceland. Records indicate that Djúpivogur was a trading centre as far back as 1589. We watched and photographed a glorious sunrise which lasted for quite a long time.

Fjords are U-shaped long and narrow inlets of land, carved out by glacier tongues. They are similar to valleys, except that they are filled with sea water. The East Fjords are surrounded by dramatic mountains. They are also far enough from Reykjavik to make day-tripping impossible so they are usually less crowded. During our winter tour, we had them all to ourselves. We stopped along our way for many scenic vistas and beautiful reflections. We even got to see some reindeer, which are wild but not native to Iceland, having been brought here in the 1800s from Norway.

Lake Lagarfljot, near the town of Egilsstadir (East Iceland’s largest town and its commerce center), provided us with a great location for another epic sunset.