Ásbyrgi Odin

North

Ásbyrgi is a horseshoe-shaped canyon in northeast Iceland, about 3.5 km long and over a kilometre wide, with cliffs rising up to 100 metres on three sides. The floor surprises: enclosed birch and willow woodland that feels nothing like the open tundra outside. Geologists credit catastrophic glacial floods from the Jökulsá á Fjöllum river — two events, roughly 8,000–10,000 years ago and again around 3,000 years ago. A 25-metre rock outcrop called Eyjan divides the canyon's middle; Botnstjörn pond at its head draws waterfowl. Norse legend reads it as Sleipnir's hoofprint, the eight-legged horse of Odin. Trails leave the parking area: the Botnstjörn walk is about 1 km and flat; the Eyjan loop adds wooden steps and a rim-level view into the canyon. The Gljúfrastofa Visitor Centre runs June through September, and a campground is open mid-May to mid-September. Ásbyrgi is in Vatnajökull National Park, 38 km east of Húsavík. Pair it with Dettifoss and Hljóðaklettar for a day in the Jökulsárgljúfur canyon system. From Reykjavík it is over 500 km — overnight in the north.

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