I’ve been to Iceland 5 instances now and I’ve seen fairly a little bit of the southern coast.  There was one spot that eluded me, although.  It’s one of the vital unimaginable canyons I’ve ever seen, however not one of the footage I noticed on-line talked about the situation.  Earlier than my final journey an Icelandic buddy lastly clued me in: the title of the canyon is Mulagljufur.

After fairly the journey attending to Iceland and seeing some lovable puffins, it was time to lastly make my strategy to Mulagljufur.  If you wish to compensate for every thing that led as much as my hike, see the next posts:

Delta paid me $4500 to take a later flight!
Delta Selection Voucher Redemptions – nearly as good as money?
Finest Day Ever: Photographing Puffins in Iceland’s Westfjords

In the event you didn’t really click on these hyperlinks, right here’s an image of a puffin to let what you missed.

Find out how to get to the Mulagljufur trailhead

In contrast to extra standard hikes like Svartifoss in Skaftafell Nationwide Park, Mulagljufur is comparatively unmarked.  You’ll not see any of the acquainted indicators pointing it out from the Ring Highway such as you noticed for Seljalandsfoss or Skogafoss.  In the event you’ve pushed out to Jokulsarlon, although, you’ve pushed proper previous it!

From the Ring Highway, you’ll flip north onto an unmarked rocky highway. 

(The map above doesn’t have a pin for the highway however it is going to load centered on the highway you could take)

A four-wheel drive car is really useful however I used to be capable of navigate the highway fastidiously with my two-wheel drive rental.  You’ll cross a stream on the best way to the path head.  In case you have a two-wheel drive car and see dashing water, flip round.  The water stage was extraordinarily low so it wasn’t a problem for me.

I drove till I reached a parking zone of kinds subsequent to a levee.  There are not any indicators right here however when you may’t go any additional, you’re there.  Seize some water, some snacks, and prepare for an important hike!

The hike to Mulagljufur

I grabbed my digicam gear and made my manner onto what I believed was the path, turning again to get an image of the parking zone.

Climb onto the levee and make your well past the parking zone, turning left on the first fork within the path.  The one markings you’ll have for the path are stakes with PVC pipes caught onto the highest.  Generally they’re hidden very well.  Usually, although, when unsure, head up!

Early on within the hike the stakes are fairly distinguished, as is the path that others have hewn into the panorama.  There are a number of instances the place you’ll be at an intersection and there’s not an apparent stake.  Look additional up the path and there can be one, you’ll simply should look slightly tougher for it.

Generally the stakes mix into the panorama REALLY nicely.  Keep on with the paths and also you’ll be okay.

I got here to the primary of two river crossings.  I had waterproof footwear on however didn’t actually need them for the reason that water stage was low.  I might put together as if the water ranges are larger than this.

Throughout one in all my many breaks to relaxation as a result of I’ve misplaced a little bit of my health to take an image, I seemed east and noticed a glacier lagoon.  It wasn’t Jokulsarlon, slightly its less-famous sibling Fjallsarlon.

I saved climbing and discovering extra stakes, it was probably the most random recreation of hide-and-seek I’ve ever performed, but it surely made me love this hike much more, because it felt extra distant.

Finally the panorama began to look extra canyon-ey.  There was one downhill half main to a different river crossing.  

This was the one place the place I noticed two stakes on totally different paths however each paths converged into the primary path later.

It was at this level the place I spotted that I used to be strolling right into a cloud.  Climate like that is frequent in Iceland, so you could perceive entering into that you simply would possibly want to attend for the epic traditional view of Mulagljufur.

I reached a clearing and noticed an exquisite waterfall throughout the canyon.  Nicely, a part of it.

I didn’t notice I used to be really on the supreme spot for the image I wished, since I couldn’t see all the best way up the canyon.  If you would like the traditional shot of the canyon, if you see the primary waterfall in entrance of you you’re mainly there.  There’s slightly clearing the place the grass has been worn down.

I really walked proper previous this clearing and went additional up the path, which was extraordinarily enjoyable.  I had respectable cell reception on your complete path, so I ultimately discovered some reference footage of the hike, acquired my bearings, circled, and went again to the clearing.  

Assured that I used to be in the correct spot, I set my digicam up, pointed immediately at: a cloud.

At that time, I simply needed to sit there and wait.  For a number of hours.  The climate wasn’t too chilly and the wind was fairly constant, so I simply wanted a small break within the clouds.  Different hikers got here and went, some from Israel, others from Germany.  It’s at all times enjoyable attending to know individuals on trails like this.  

Mercifully, I began to see extra of the waterfall throughout the canyon from me, the primary signal that the clouds have been lifting.

The canyon was trying wonderful, I simply wanted the final layers of clouds to interrupt.

Lastly, they did.  My endurance paid off.  I noticed Mulagljufur in its full glory.

For photographers: 50mm will get you an important wide-angle view of the canyon, 70mm can be a pleasant centre-weighted composition.  A 24-70mm must be superb for Mulagljufur however a 24-105 is perhaps higher, otherwise you might be like me and have a digicam with a 50mm focal size lens on it and one other digicam with a 70-200 on it.

Happy with my efforts, I packed my digicam gear up and made my manner again right down to my ready automobile, happy with an exquisite hike.  It’s roughly a 4-mile (6.5km) hike that has an excellent little bit of escalation on the best way but it surely’s pretty gradual (you received’t be scrambling up cliff faces or something like that).

In the event you’re within the space, I can’t suggest this hike sufficient!  Mulagljufur has bits and items of each different nice hike I’ve completed in Iceland and it’s surprisingly accessible simply off the Ring Highway.

I hope this information was useful!  Are you planning to go to Mulagljufur and play Spot the Stake?  Inform me within the feedback beneath!