Skogar

Y ou may not know the name of Skogar but if you have done the slightest bit of research before coming over you should be familiar with a waterfall known as Skogafoss. Getting the picture?

The famous waterfall is located at Skogar which is a borderline village so to speak. A few people live here and once a school located here was among the most famous and popular. But apart from high summer season the number of folks actually living here dwindles down to a few dozen at best.

One might say Skogar is a bit of an oasis. One cannot miss it since the Ring Road circling the country runs right by here and it makes quite an impression since this is but a half-moon shaped valley. Best of all the fact that the waterfall can be seen straight from the Ring Road enticing all curious travelers.

The waterfall is certainly beautiful and quite powerful as well dropping a whopping 60 meters straight down to a small rocky canyon. A steep path on the right side allows the more adventurous to get above the fall which is not a sorry sight either.

If you have time and adventure in your blood we highly recommend hiking a bit along the Skoga river above the waterfall. In just half an hour or so you´ll find there are more beautiful waterfalls around than just Skogafoss.

While the village itself is but a horrible cluster of small homes the old schoolhouse is quite stunning and can usually be visited in summertime. A part of it is run as a hotel and there are plans to build lots more hotels here in the next few years to accommodate ever growing numbers of tourists.

But for such a tiny place you might be surprised to know we have not yet come to the pìece de résistance. Skogasafn Folk Museum is the local museum here and it is here you´ll find not only a modern, if small, museum of old Iceland artifacts but also a excellently preserved old turf house. While turf houses might not be high on your bucket lists it will give you a much deeper understanding of how far Iceland has come in a short time. Apart from the fact that these kinds of turf houses are not found anywhere else on earth. We implore you to waltz around and take your time. A shop and cafe is on site.

A few steps away from the folk museum you have the Transportation Museum. This is a recent addition here and while perhaps of slight interest to machine-minded people this is unmemorable at best.

Funnily enough, the name Skogar means woods in Icelandic. But you´ll be hard pressed to find a single tree around these parts. They´ve all been chopped to smithereens centuries ago.

Services here are limited and only place to eat is at the hotels and the museum. Do not hesitate to ask locals for assistance if anything. They are a friendly bunch.

Skogar is usually the beginning of a very popular long trek over Fimmvorduhals and ends in Thorsmork nature reserve. That trek will take you pretty close to that famous Eyjafjallajokul volcano. More here.

GETTING HERE: The simplest thing. Just drive on the Ring Road and you find this without a problem. From Reykjavik city a drive to here will hardly take more than two hours.It is possible to get here by bus from most places but they usually only run once or twice per day.

DE FACTO: Skogar is a welcoming place even if it lies in the shadow of that famous unpronounceable Eyjafjallajokull volcano. Not long ago one could arrive here in mid-summer and still feel a tranquil feeling come over but with the influx of tourists this is getting harder. A couple of hours will do this place justice if time is limited but laying your head here for a night will calm your nerve and heart if haste in not in your dictionary.

OUR HUMBLE OPINION: If the day is nice this is an awesome place for a picnic even if tourists are arriving here by the busloads. The numbers of visitors does make it hard to enjoy this to the fullest but this is a must stop regardless.

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