Iceland Lighthouses

In a departure from my usual Caribbean-themed posts, here is a review from my first guest writer, my sister Mary, about her recent adventures in Iceland.

Iceland has approximately 104 lighthouses along its 3000-mile coastline, mostly small ones, but for those with a passion for architecture, history, and fantastical panoramas, they are definitely worth a visit! The Icelandic word for a lighthouse is “viti,” which means “to know,” as in “to know” where one is sailing. And similarly, the purpose of reading a travel blog is “to know” more about, well, wherever one has been or will be travelling.

Most of the lighthouses are scattered along the northern coasts and fjords, but my south coast and Reykjavik/Reykjanes visit included a number of particularly interesting viti, of which I visited two.

Originally beacons were set out by churches along the coast, before specific-purpose lighthouses were built. Reykjanesviti on the Reykjanes peninsula, holds the title of Iceland’s oldest lighthouse, originally constructed in 1878, destroyed by earthquake 8 years later, and rebuilt in 1929. It still has a lighthouse keeper, which is unusual. It has the most traditional appearance, and is one of the taller ones, at 26 meters, as well as being on top of a hill overlooking the Atlantic coast. The ocean surrounding the rocky shoreline is a spectacular sapphire, and there are black sand beaches and cliffs full of seabirds, and rainbows everywhere. You can see why the Bifrost Bridge of Norse mythology is a rainbow. You can park at the Gunnuhver hot springs and walk to the lighthouse, or vice versa, because hot springs are a key element of Icelandic geology. And the Blue Lagoon is close by, and if you don’t go to the Blue Lagoon, did you even go to Iceland? Yes, it’s touristy, but own it, you are a tourist! Plus it has an in-pool bar. And 5 days later, my skin still feels amazing from the silica soak and sample lotions provided.

You can see the Hopsnesviti, built in 1928, from the Reykjanesviti, or make a side trip. Being short on time, we did not. Nor did we actually climb the hill of the Reykjanesviti, but next time!!

Dyrholaeyviti, first lit in 1927, is on the south coast, the southernmost bit of the country other than the Westman Islands, which have their own lighthouse, and which I definitely want to visit at a not-too-far-distant future. The waters here are famously treacherous, but between fire and ice and the oceans power, truly mythic landscapes have been created. The lighthouse itself is only 13 meters tall, but is on a high sea cliff, and overlooks the famous Reynisdrangar rocks, the black sand beaches, the sea arches for which Dyrholaey (literally door in the wall) is named, and looking the other direction, from which you can see the Myrdalsjokull glacier in the distance. Speaking of glaciers, they feed the abundance of waterfalls for which the south coast is known.

Reykjavík

Ingólfsgarður Lighthouse

Þingvellir National Park

Dyrholaey Lighthouse

Icelandic horses

Seljalandsfoss Waterfall

Reykjanes Lighthouse

Skógafoss Waterfall

No travel blog is complete without mention of food and drink, so let me just say that Iceland is worth visiting just for the food. The volcanic terroir infuses the greenhouse grown vegetables and the grasses on which the livestock feed with a flavor that makes even the simplest boiled egg with salt into an extravaganza of deliciousness. Their rye bread is like cake, the fish is probably right off the boat into the kitchen, and they have a taste for fascinating and unusual ice cream flavors. It’s a brilliant combination of hearty and light, I don’t know how they do it! Gin is a popular cocktail base, and Icelandic gins are becoming renowned for their quality: there are entire bars in Rejkjavik dedicated to different gins. But Brennivin is the signature distilled beverage, flavored with caraway, so with a fresh rye herbal flavor. It’s quite delicious as either a shot or cocktail base, but beware, it’s also quite potent!

We ate at the Cafe Loki in Rejkjavik, which looked potentially gimmicky, with their "icelandic plates" featuring the notorious fermented shark, but was actually fantastic, with their rye bread/trout torte and rye bread ice cream. Also in Rejkjaviik, we ate at ROK in a very cute traditionally styled building complete with thatch roof, where the Arctic char, kind of a cross between salmon and trout, was sooo good. In Selfoss, we were fortunate to get the last available table at Tryggvaskali where we enjoyed pan fried ling, a type of cod, in a broth that made me just pick up the bowl and drink it so as not to miss a drop. Caramel ice cream at the Efstidalur farm inland was a wonderful mid-afternoon Golden Circle treat. In Vik, the Strondin pub had succulent lamb chops and fish stew, and the Skool Beans coffee bus is a not-to-miss.

Other lighthouses of note, on my “next time” list:

1. Grottaviti, 3 miles from Reykjavik and a popular place from which to view the Aurora Borealis. They have had a lighthouse at this site since 1897.
2. Akranesviti, in the Westfjords, actually two at this site
3. Garoskagaviti, the “tallest” in Iceland at 28m height, near the Keflavik International Airport
4. Thridrangaviti, perched atop a 120-foot basalt stack in the Westman Islands, so the “highest” in Iceland, which can be visited by helicopter and is described as the most isolated lighthouse in the world
5. Dalantangaviti, the easternmost and the oldest existing structure, built in 1895, but not actually in use because it was replaced with a newer one at some point. Since the original Reykjanesviti was destroyed, there’s some conflicting claims for longevity of the viti: Do you claim by age of existing structure vs site?
6. Knarrarosviti in the south coast village of Stokkseyri, which looks more like a cubist sculpture than a typical lighthouse, and huh we must’ve driven right by it, how did I miss it?
7. Hraunhafnartangiviti, the northernmost, only a half mile south of the Arctic Circle

Travel tips: Iceland is about a 6-hour flight from the big US airports, we flew Icelandair from Washington Dulles. They currently have no Covid-19 immunization or testing requirements. Iceland's time zone is four hours ahead of the US east coast. We booked a self-driving package which included airport shuttle on arrival, rental car, hotels for three nights with breakfast, and Blue Lagoon on day of departure. They offer bookings for many excursions such as glacier hikes, whale watching or northern lights cruises, or you can arrange those yourself. If you prepay 25% at time of booking, you get travel insurance included at no additional cost - how civilized! The rental car came with wi-fi, which was very handy - again, how civilized! Driving is on the right side of the road so that's easy. The ring road is single lane each way with many narrow bridges, and watch out for sheep! You can't drive fast, but why would you want to? The scenery is mouthwatering pretty much everywhere.

https://www.visitreykjanes.is/en/place/reykjanes-lighthouse
https://guidetoiceland.is/travel-info/lighthouses-in-iceland-everything-you-need-to-know
https://meanderingwild.com/lighthouses-iceland/
https://iceland.nordicvisitor.com/