Epic Travel → Europe → Iceland → Southern Iceland → Rútshellir

Location: Skógar/Vík area, Southern Iceland

Time Required: 15 – 30 minutes

Red Tape/Notes: Park on the dirt pull-out (it’s around 3km west of Skógafoss) and cross the fence to explore the cave (the door is unlocked) and surrounding area

What’s Nearby?: Seljavallalaug, Skógafoss, Kvernufoss, Sólheimasandur Plane Crash, Dyrhólaey, Reynisfjara, Fjaðrárgljúfur

Man-made caves can be found all over southern Iceland, and 41 are protected sites – presumably there were existing caves in the rock which were expanded to be more useful. This particular cave is a nice example and has an interesting (if rather dark) history: it was explored by the Nazis in 1936 looking for evidence of heathen temples. After walking through the wood and stone barn at the front (which was added in the early 20th century; the rest of the cave is much older), you’ll pass into a fairly large room that was used to store hay. A hole in the wall of this cave allows you to climb up into a perpendicular cave (this cave is called Stúkan) that is thought to have been a smithy. The hills around the cave are also fun to climb around and explore, with lots of interesting rock formations and shallow caves.

Epic Travel → Europe → Iceland → Southern Iceland → Rútshellir