Austurland - Austurland

Austurland

Location
State	Iceland
Capital	Egilsstaðir
Surface	22,721 km²
Inhabitants	15.300 (2007)
Institutional website

Austurland (in Italian Land of the East, or Austfirðir) is a tourist and administrative region located in the east ofIceland.

To know

Geographical notes

The region extends along the eastern coasts of the island, and includes part of the central area of the Highlands of Iceland (also called Ice of Iceland), where the Vatnajökull glacier, the largest in the country, stands out.

The landscape is therefore divided in two: on the one hand we have a typically polar and mountain environment, with a decidedly harsh climate, and on the other a vast plain that extends up to the typical fjords of the coast; between the two climatic zones there is a vast region rich in forests. Within the region also extends the Skaftafell National Park, a vast area of volcanic origin.

Background

The eastern regions seem to have been discovered and colonized first by the Vikings who departed from Norway, and right here, in the coastal town of Mjóifjörður the Norwegians established their landing point for the whalers.

A saga tells that the first Viking to set foot on the island was Naddoddr, who landed on the south coast of Austurland, and who baptized the island with the name of Snæland (Land of Snow).

Culture and traditions

Like most of theIceland in this region the most widespread cult is Christianity, which has its roots in the country since the beginning of the year 1000.

Territories and tourist destinations

Eastern Iceland

Urban centers

Panorama of Breiðdalsvík

Egilsstaðir - Capital and largest inhabited center of Austurland.
Breiðdalsvík - A bay with a valley surrounded by high mountains. Angling can be practiced on the Breiddalsa river.
Faskrudsfjordur
Fljótsdalur (or Fljótsdalshreppur) - It is one of the least populated urban agglomerations in the nation.
Höfn - A fishing port on the south-east coast, Höfn is famous for its July lobster festival. The center has an airport and is the base for excursions to the Vatnajökull glacier, the largest in Iceland, as well as to the Skaftafell National Park.
Mjóifjörður - Small and narrow (18 X 2 km), Mjóifjörður still remains off the beaten track by tourism, although it offers beautiful views from its steep cliffs. Few infrastructures, practically only one hotel in the tiny village of Brekka, on the bay at the entrance to the fjord.
Neskaupstadur - Reachable via a difficult tunnel mountain road, Neskaupstadur offers numerous possibilities for mountain hikers. One of these is the excursion to Mount Gerpir.
Reyðarfjordur - Shunned by tourists due to a huge aluminum factory on its banks and an equally huge hydroelectric power station upstream.
Stöðvarfjörður

View of the Skaftafell National Park

Other destinations

Fjallsárlón - Glacial lake at the southern end of the Icelandic Vatnajökull glacier.
Hallormsstadaskogur
Jökulsárlón - Iceland's largest and best-known glacial lake.
Skaftafell National Park - Park with alpine views that contains among others the Svartifoss waterfall (or Black Waterfall).

How to get

On boat

The port of Seyðisfjörður represents the only way of communication by sea for cars and heavy vehicles via a ferry that connects the island to the island once a weekEurope.

How to get around

What see

Itineraries

Djúpivogur

Ring Road

Assuming you enter the eastern region from the northeast, after visiting the Jökulsárgljúfur National Park we will take the Ring Road again which goes straight up to Egilsstaðir, capital and major center of the region. Seyðisfjörður is the port of Egilsstaðir. Smyril Line ferries from the Danish port of Hanstholm dock here.

From the capital we take the state road 92 which allows access to the following fjords: Mjóifjörður, Neskaupstadur, Reyðarfjordur, Faskrudsfjordur, Stöðvarfjörður is Breiðdalsvík.

Raufarhofn-Egilsstaðir

The itinerary from Raufarhofn allows you to visit Bakkafjordur, Vopnafjörður is Borgarfjörður Eystri, the northern fjords untouched by the Ring Road. We join the previous itinerary at the height of the capital Egilsstaðir.

Passed Breiddalsvik you connect to the Ring Road that runs along the banks of the Berufjord at whose entrance is the village of Djúpivogur from which you can take boat trips to the nearby island of Papey, uninhabited but with numerous seal colonies.