Hólmsárgljúfur is a small but beautiful canyon in the river Hólmsá.  The river originates in the small glacier Torfajökull in the Highland and finds its way through a large lagoon in the Syðri Fjallabak area, Hólmsárlón, flowing through the beautiful landscape of Brytalækir all the way to the river Kúðafljót near the Ring Road.  About 20 kilometers before merging with Kúðafljót the river enters the canyon by the small mountain Atlaey or Atlis Island, an island on dry land.

A spectacular peaceful place that few visit that requires a small hike and a 4X4

Visiting Hólmsárgljúfur is a short but interesting drive from the Ring Road. The drive is about 15 kilometers north on road nr. 209 Hrífunesvegur.  You only need to drive about 5 kilometers on that road and take a turn west on the mountain road F232 to drive the ten additional kilometers.  If you like hiking, you might want to hike around the small mountains Atlaey and Háey as part of that tour. A walk that gives you a great view of the small canyon and the landscape at Syðri Fjallabak. This is a great option in Iceland for those who want to take the time to prepare, get a glimpse of the Highland and visit a place few people visit.

A river and canyon at risk because of a plan to build a dam and a power plant

One of the advantages if you climb the two small mountains Atlaey and Háey are to get a view of the Highland. To the west and north of the mountains, you see an area that the power company Landsvirkjun plans to drown to build a dam.  Another sad plan to build a hydroelectric power plant.  It is also recommended to walk by the canyon a bit to the east before circling around the two mountains.   It is fascinating for photographers to get a view of the river on the sand west of the canyon and it is also a great view to enjoy.  On the west side of the two mountains, both bearing the names of islands, there is a beautiful creek with wonderful birdlife. 
 

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Below is the location of Hólmsárgljúfur on the map of Iceland

In March one year ago when traveling in the northern part of Iceland, we came across a major setup for a filming crew by Lake Myvatn.  In addition to the full accommodation and gear buildings, we saw a lot of weird looking vehicles.  We learned that it was a filming crew of Fast And The Furious 8 located here in the middle of winter at the south end of the Lake.  No photos were allowed, and we didn’t even try to find a way to sneak a shot of the setup as it is important to honor such request.  We did, on the other hand, manage to take this photo of the exact ice that was used for filming tow or three days later and the conditions at Myvatn at the time.

Where is Lake Myvatn?

For those who are wondering where this place is and how it looks, we can inform you that this is actually one of the most beautiful places in Iceland.  Lake Myvatn is a major attraction renowned for its beauty and landscape.   It is also part of the Ring Road that many visitors choose to travel while visiting Iceland. The landscape around the lake is not only beautiful, but there are also many impressive natural wonders in the area like Dimmuborgir Lava Park, Námaskarð hot springs, and Goðafoss waterfall.

The exact location of the filming

The exact location of the setup was at Skútustaðir, a tiny hamlet at the south end of the lake.  The area looks quite different during summer, and even this winter as the frost by the lake is much less than it was at the time of filming.  Fortunately, it was freezing by the lake last winter so the ice managed to hold all the vehicles speeding on the ice.  So the crew got the prime weather for this part of the film.