Epic Travel → Europe → Iceland → Southern Iceland → Gígjökull

Location: Thórsmörk, Southern Iceland

Time Required: 1 hour (not including drive time in and out of Thórsmörk)

Red Tape/Notes: This is one of several stops you can make while visiting Thórsmörk; the area is best accessed using a high clearance 4-wheel drive or Super Jeep, though it may occasionally be passable in late September and October in typical rental 4-wheel drives (Dacia Dusters). Small local company Into the Wild offers a lovely tour if you’re in the market for a guide (and their jeep).

What’s Nearby?: Seljalandsfoss, Gljúfrabúi, Thórsmörk, Merkurker, Fimmvörðuháls, Stakkholtsgjá, Mossy Lava Rocks

One of the outlets of the parent glacier Eyjafjallajökull (made famous by its 2010 eruption which wreaked havoc on air travel to and from Europe), Gígjökull used to end in a large glacial lagoon, but the 2010 eruption dramatically altered the landscape so that only a shallow river runs through the basin left behind by the former lagoon (check out before and after pictures on wikipedia here). The walls of the basin are quite obvious, and you can explore the former floor of the lagoon and hike to the end of the glacier which, as of 2018, ends in an ice archway/cave with a stream running through it.

Epic Travel → Europe → Iceland → Southern Iceland → Gígjökull