Kaldalon (Kaldalón) detour
Kaldalon (Kaldalón) detour
Only accessible in summer, the gravel road 635 heads north to Kaldalón inlet, formed by a retreating glacier tongue. Not many visitors bother with this detour but if you like wild, remote places with few other people around you’ll appreciate its marvellous solitude. At the head of the inlet, before crossing the river, a track heads towards the glacier. Where the track ends you can park by the moraines from where you can get a good view of the glacier in the distance or you can continue on foot towards the glacier tongue.
This hike takes around 60-90 minutes each way and may involve wading or hopping over streams so care is needed. Keep a respectful distance from the glacier as the area around a retreating tongue is very unstable and can be dangerous. Sigvaldi Kaldalóns served as doctor in this remote area during 1910-1921 and was so struck by its natural beauty that he adopted its name as his own. In his spare time he was an accomplished composer and wrote one of Iceland’s best-known folk songs ‘Á Sprengisandi’.