Since 1890 the Vogar family has run a farm, today they have 120 sheep, 40 cows, and welcome tourists to enjoy a slice of their life. Whether you’re looking for a nights rest in the guesthouse or a meal at Vogafjós Cowshed Café, this is a delightful place to stop in the Mývatn area.
After a long day of hiking and sightseeing, I wouldn’t feel out of place eating beside the livestock.
Especially when they have adorable friendly faces like this.
Some people might be put off by the idea of bovine dining companions, but in reality the restaurant isn’t exactly in the barn, just connected right beside it. The dining area is very clean and has a wonderful atmosphere.
If you can pick a spot by the window, the lovely and relaxing view stretches out to the lake.
The food offered is farm fresh. Homemade smoked fish, geysir rye bread baked in the ground by geothermal heat, and mozzarella courtesy of the cows in the shed. To sample a bit of everything local, we split a few small dishes. The dill cured arctic char was perfection, rich and flavorful.
Geysir bread served with salted butter had a very unique taste to it, stronger and more interesting than I could imagine from a simple slice of bread.
The delicious namesake Vogar sandwich came on home baked bread, Mývatn mozzarella, tomato, and leek paired with a fresh salad sprinkled with Mývatn cheese.
Well touted, but not a tourist trap – enjoy a real Icelandic farm to table experience.
An explosion 2,500 years ago created one of the largest tephra craters on Earth. It is 3,300 feet in diameter and the cinder cone rises 590 feet tall. To get to the hike, drive five minutes off the main road on a gravel track. There are two parking areas, the first is easy to get to and I chose to park in it. If you want to get right to the base of the crater it is just a few hundred feet down the road, which becomes more degraded. A hiking trail heads diagonally up a fault line, the path is 2,000 ft long to reach the rim of the crater, gaining 300 ft elevation along the way.
Short and steep on a gravel path, but it only takes a few minutes to climb. If you want to walk around the rim entirely, the hike will be two miles roundtrip. However, if you’re short on time the best view is one fifth counterclockwise, easily spotted as the highest point on the rim. The sight of the picture perfect crater is jaw dropping, almost perfectly round.
The tephra caused pyroclastic flows on the slopes of the crater that reached up to 2 miles from the crater, you can see traces of them if you visit the Myvatn Nature Baths. Views out into the distance are sublime.
Good to know:
Translating to dark castle, it’s not hard to see why this ominous landscape in 
There are multiple hiking routes to take from short and easy paths, to ones that will take you the better portion of a day. To see the most riveting sights of the park hop on the Kirkjuhrigur or Churchcircle trail which is a 1.4 mile loop.
Well maintained and even paved for some portions of the hike, it is easy to admire your surroundings.
The premiere sight of the preserve is certainly Kirkjan, the Church, a collapsed lava tube which is so perfectly formed it looks like an ancient gothic citadel.
With dramatically high ceilings, you can walk right through the cave which is open at both ends.
When lava flowed over a marsh2,300 years ago the water boiled and towers formed up to 65 feet high in a cataclysmic eruption.
Another cave exists along the trail, if you can find it. Jólasveinahellirinn is the cave of the Yule Lads, 13 despicable trolls who harass Icelanders on the thirteen nights before Christmas.
They are named for their evil doings, Skyr-Gobbler, spoon licker, window-peeper, and noisy door slammer. No better is their mother, a half troll and half ogre named Grýla who loves to eat children!
Fear not in the summer time, when they are sleeping and rarely seen…but be on alert before Christmas time – they are most active then. Facilities including a café and paid restrooms are available on site.
Hofdi is a place that is different than most in Iceland, it has trees. A couple who summered in the area planted these trees over the years. When the husband passed away, his wife donated their property as a park for all to enjoy. Feel the love in the land and enter the gate in the small parking lot and into the woods.
The paths are not entirely marked, but staying to the left the whole time it was easy to navigate the park in a two mile loop.
Always take the detours towards the shore, they will lead you to prime views. Sprouting out of the lake are a collection of craggy lava pillars called Klasar and Kálfastrandarstrípar.
They were formed when lava flowed over the lake and steam exploded through vents, one of the islands even cooled with a built in window. After taking in the bizarre sight the trail meanders through a meadow with a small patch of formal garden.
Then a short set of stairs leads up to another wonderful feature of this preserve.
Find the fantastic view at the forests edge of the lake and out to the nearby 
The shallow water of the inlet looked positively turquoise on this bright sunny day.
We were the only wanders in these woods early in the morning, making the experience all the more memorable.
These aren’t your average craters, with a magma conduit connecting them to the earth’s surface…these are the Pseudo Craters of Skútustaðagígar.
Their formation is a rarity found few places in our universe, namely in Iceland and on Mars, making this area a national monument named for an ancient hero wielding a deadly axe.
Also known as rootless cones, this geological oddity occurred when path of the blistering lava crossed the cold water of the wetlands, creating a gas explosion.
First it is necessary to say you are entering a farm, you must be respectful and mind the sheep. A sign requests you not follow them because they see it as an attack.
For a quick walk, there is a one-mile trail which brings you up to the craters.
You can walk around the rim and take in incredible views.
From here you can loop back to the parking lot or embark on a two mile hike which tours multiple crater areas and explores Stakholsjond Pond, a hotspot for birding.
You may see waterfowl such as loon, grebe, greater scaup, widgeon, and gadwall.
On this longer route you must walk along the main road to complete the loop and get back to the parking lot. Across from the parking area you’ll find a gas station and restrooms.
The waterfall flows from the fourth largest river in the country that originates deep in the highlands, Skjálfandafljót is 112 miles long.
Pouring over a horseshoe cliff the powerful bubbling waterfall is almost 40’ high and 100’ across.
Located right on the 
Nearly 7,000 plants, both native and foreign are on display for pleasure and study. Walking quickly through takes about half an hour, but to read and view everything inside could take a whole afternoon.
Not only are there plants in the garden, but it is a wonderful place to observe local birds.
The park is equipped with restrooms and water fountain disguised as sculptures.
It is until 10PM so you can enjoy the late hours of summer days strolling amongst the flora.
Walking around you can’t miss the impeccable street art, including life-sized trolls.
The signature statement of the most famous hot dog stand of the north is its red cabbage, along with fried and raw onion, ketchup, cocktail sauce, remoulade sauce and mustard tucked underneath the meat. What’s really great about this food truck is that it offers more variety than its 
For someone who doesn’t eat hot dogs, I was exceptionally happy to get a tuna dog and feel a part of the food culture. Fare that is additionally available includes English breakfast, crepes, waffles and traditional Icelandic meat soup.
There are many toppings to choose from, including different forms of Icelanders favorite treat, licorice – you can also turn your ice cream into a twister or a shake.
Situated in the small town of Holmavik in the eastern edge of the 
Find your way into the room with the comfy armchairs and read up on the fascinating stories. The museum is what you make of it, taking the time to read the text is essential because there is not much signage nor any interactive components. Make your way into the exhibit hall and see the magical staves and wooden runes.
After visiting as the stories soaked in, it was all my companion and I could talk about for days and we still giggle about it till this day. In reflection, it ended up become a keystone of our trip and I would recommend it if you are interested in folklore and/or history.
+The only object ever found connected with the old Viking religion, known in sagas as a bowl to hold sacrificial blood during rituals. Scientific research authenticates the blood remains in the bowl to the local tales. The artifact was found just 30 minutes from the museum in the Valley of the Deity.
+In 1615 three ships filled with Basque whalers crashed ashore near the museum. Eighty survived the shipwreck and started to steal from local farms to survive. There was an order to kill the Basques on sight and a massacre of 32 men occurred. Exactly 400 years later in 2015, the decree to destroy all Basques in the region was officially repealed, commemorated with a plaque to prove their safety in the country.
Enticing Tales:
+The Necropants or Nábrók is one of the most gruesome feats in magic. It takes two to begin. A sorcerer makes a pact with a living man, that he can dig up said mans dead body and flay his skin from the waist down to create a trouser made of human skin.
The wizard wears these skin pants which immediately become his own, and then steals a coin from a poor widow on Christmas or Easter and keeps it in the scrotum. From then on, an infinite source of coins can be found in the scrotum. The only catch is, the owner must step out of the pants and convince someone else to step into them before he dies – or his body will become infested with lice after he passes.
When it is big enough it can go out and steal milk from farmers and its mother can create delicious Icelandic butter out of that. To get rid of it, the woman must pick up lamb dropping from three highland farms and feed it to the tilberi, which will then explode.
Across the street is a white building which houses a changing facility, shower, and restroom, free of charge. Slide on in to your pool of choice and steep in the atmosphere.
The pools are geothermally heated by the spring running underneath the deck and each has a different temperature. One is lukewarm and the other two are hot, I felt like Goldielocks trying all three, the middle being just right.
Whether you want to watch the townsfolk and tourists go by, or look for birds and whales…there are few places more lovely on earth to soak the day away.
The farmers in the infinitesimal town of Hvitanes have set up a wonderful place to pull off, and a smooth walking path down to the water.
Can you believe they thought of putting a pair of binoculars out to borrow? Also there are bathrooms and a garbage. At the end of the path the view is pure magic, just enough blue sky to paint the water and the mountains.
Many harbor seals balance on the rocks just a few feet away from the shore. Some barking and battling is imminent to maintain the choicest of spots.
If you happen to be driving this route, stop and visit the seal colony for yourself, in all of its splendor.