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Overview
Situated in north-east Iceland, north of Lake Myvatn this park is centred around a canyon on the Jokulsa river. Half a kilometre wide and more than 100m deep this canyon on the Jokulsa river is the largest in Iceland and was declared a national park in 1973. In the south of the park are three waterfalls thought by some to be the most impressive in Europe, in the central area the valley is broader with much vegetation and to the north, in the valley of the Vesturdalour there are high rock walls overlooking grassland.
Birds
Notable Species
The cliff-faces and rocky slopes have Northern Raven, Merlin and Gyr Falcon with Eurasian Golden Plover, Rock Ptarmigan and Snow Bunting on the moorland and grassland. Around the lakes and in boggy areas there are Common Redshank, Red-necked Phalarope and various waterfowl. The scrubby areas are home to Northern Redpoll, Redwing and Meadow Pipit. Great Skua nests close to the sea in the delta in the north of the park and Northern Fulmar on nearby cliffs at Asbyrgi.
Check-list
Birds you can see here include:
Northern Fulmar, Merlin, Gyr Falcon, Rock Ptarmigan, Eurasian Golden Plover, Common Snipe, Common Redshank, Red-necked Phalarope, Great Skua, Arctic Tern, Meadow Pipit, Icelandic Wren, Northern Wheatear, Redwing, Northern Redpoll, Northern Raven, Snow Bunting
Other Wildlife
To do
Site Information
Access and Facilities
There are campsites within the park and also wardens on site. The park is 45km north-west of Grimsstadir and is open from mid-June to September 1.
Contact Details
To do
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1
Content and images originally posted by Steve
Reviews
Edward's review
This area in remote north-east Iceland receives a fair amount of tourists in the summer because of the dramatic scenery of the canyon and especially Europe's largest (in terms of volume) waterfall Dettifoss. This is simply one of the most impessive sights I've ever seen. Bird life in the canyon itself is relatively thin on the ground although Gyr Falcon does breed here and Snow Buntings can be seen flitting around the waterfall car park. Note that it's generally not possible to reach Dettifoss until mid-June because of snow. The impressive horsehoe canyon at Asbyrgi is home to a real Icelandic "forest" and is full of Redpoll and Redwing. The best birding area is outside the park and on the flatlands between Asbyrgi and the sea and is one of the best areas I've seen for breeding waders in Iceland: Whimbrel, Black-tailed Godwit, Red-necked Phalarope, Golden Plover, Snipe, Redshank, Dunlin all abound and Arctic and Great Skua also fly over regularly. Those with time should head out to the north-east peninsula of Melrakkasl�tta close by, a very bird rich area in the summer. You'll feel like you're on the edge of the world. Pros
- Waterfall Dettifoss
- density of breeding waders on coastal plain
Cons
- Relatively low density of birds in park itself
