There are few places in Iceland that resemble Ábyrgi, as the place is a magnificent natural phenomenon with high cliff walls that are up to 100 meters high and many kilometers long and form what is often called the horse’s shoe.
It is believed that Ásbyrgi was formed in a great catastrophic flood thousands of years ago. You can learn about the origins of Ábyrgi and more at the Vatnajökull National Park exhibition in the service center. Ásbyrgi is on the Arctic Coast Way route.
In Ásbyrgi there is a large rocky island which is very prominent. The rock is like an island rising up in the middle of the area and is therefore called The Island. Inside the horse’s shoe is a large birch forest and a lot of coniferous trees have been planted.
On one of our trips to Ásbyrgi, we walked from the service center and along the entire wall of the cliffs. It was an incredibly fun walk and we highly recommend it. Walking along the high cliff face that hovers over the footpath in some places is a great experience. The walk was about 8 miles back and forth.
It is easy to spend a few days in Ásbyrgi to enjoy the place and explore the area, but it is also possible to get a lot out of a day stay on a good day.
