Fosshotel Nupar

Dverghamrar (Dwarf Rocks), just east of Foss, are peculiar and beautiful formations of columnar basalt. On top of the columns there is cube-jointed basalt. The landscape is thought to have been moulded at the end of the Ice Age. The sea level was higher at that time and it is believed that the waves caused the peculiar look of the rocks. Dverghamrar are a protected natural monument. Columnar basalt is formed when lava flow gets cooled and contraction forces build up. Cracks then form horizontally and the extensive fracture network that develops results in the six sided formation of the columns.

At Nupsstadur there are remarkable old buildings that are believed to be typical for farms in Iceland in past centuries. The one you should notice is the chapel, one of very few remaining turf churches in Iceland. The chapel is most likely from a church built in 1650. However church has not been at Nupsstadur since 1765.

The chapel was proclaimed inviolate in 1930 and was the first house in Iceland to receive that and was then re-conscrated in 1961.

Just north of Nupsstadir lies the Nupsstadaforest, magnificent copsewood that grows west of Skeidararjokull glacier and close to the famous Greenlagoon. The forest is a paradise for hikers but guidance when driving there is recommended.