Stakkholtsgjá Canyon

Stakkholtsgjá cuts back into the mountains of the Þórsmörk nature reserve, one of the most sheltered valleys in the Icelandic highlands. The canyon runs about 2 km between palagonite and basalt walls that rise up to 100 m and hold thick green moss, with a shallow stream crossing its black-sand floor. Near the end the walls close in and a waterfall drops through a slot in the rock into a cave-like recess. Reaching it, deep in the roadless highlands, is much of the appeal.