Katla Center

A breathtaking 16 km drive from the ring road no. 1 to Þakgil campsite and hiking area. Surrounded by black sand and glacial rivers a gravel road crosses the heath of Höfðabrekka, a tuff ridge between rivers Múlakvísl and Kerlingadalsá formed during the last Ice Age, when volcanic material forced its way from beneath the glacier following a sub-glacial eruption. The road is closed during the winter. The vegetation in this area is extremely vulnerable to trampling, please keep to trails at all times.

Dyrhólaey is a 120-metre high promontory, not far from Vík. The place got its name from the massive arch that the sea has eroded from the headland. (The name literally means "door-hole"). When the sea is calm, big boats can sail through it. There has even been a maniacal daredevil pilot that flew through the arch with a small-craft airplane! From the top of Dyrhólaey there is a great view. The headland is thought to have been made in an underwater volcanic eruption late in the glacial period, not unlike the eruption of Surtsey. Several outcrops are in the sea, the highest one called Háidrangur ("High column") is 56 m. high. Dyrhólaey has been a natural reserve since 1978. The promontory is widely known among sailors as "Portland", and English trawler fishermen ubeach where one can climb (at your own risk). According to legend the Reynisdrangar needles were formed when two trolls were trying to drag a three-masted ship to land. When daylight broke they turned to stone. The Needles can be seen clearly from the village of Vík and are 66 meters above sea level at their highest. In one of the many caves here - there is a local legend about a monster having lived here for many centuries. The monster seems to have disappeared after a landslide over 100 years ago…sed to call it "Blow hole". There are also amazing rock formations all along the Birdlife here is abundant, with puffins and eider ducks being the most common species in the area. The lighthouse on the top of the cliff stands impressive and stoic in this often very windy area. Be careful not to go too close to the ledge of this dramatic cliff.

A 220 m tall former Surtseyan island surrounded by black sand. The island formed offshore and has since been partially buried by the advancing Mýrdalssandur sand plain. A massive jökulhlaup from Katla, buried the fjord of Kerlingarfjörður, probably in 1179 and subsequent jökulhlaups have driven the shoreline several kilometers into the sea, the last one occurring in 1918. Easy to reach during summer, you can hike to the top from west side where one of the first settlers is believed to be buried as well as the last farmers from the headland. Also look at the large sea eroded cave on the south side and enjoy the nesting fulmar in the cliffs.

Reynisfjall is a 340 m high tuff mountain arising out of a volcanic eruption from under a glacier in the penultimate Ice Age, near the village of Vik. Alternating in an irregular manner are layers of tuff, pillow lava and columnar basalt veins and loops.

Reynisdrangar stacks are a collection of 66 m high rock pillars that rise out of the sea and are of the same geological formation as Reynisfjall. On Reynisfjöru beach, very beautiful basalt formations in the south part of the mountain can be seen, and there you will find an exceedingly beautiful cave called Hálsanefshellir.

The waves here are deceiving and have caused the death of a number of visitors in recent years, even in the best of weather. Please take great care and keep a good distance from the sea.