Nature's Art at Vesturdalur, Northern Iceland

For travelers to northern Iceland, whether as part of the Ring Road or otherwise, Jökulsárgljúfur Canyon should be part of your itinerary. Formerly a national park on its own, it now falls under Vatnajökull National Park.

If you had planned to visit Dettifoss or Ásbyrgi canyon, then you're essentially visiting Jökulsárgljúfur already. Basically, Ásbyrgi marks the northern while Dettifoss marks the southern end of Jökulsárgljúfur Canyon. However, what I found the most interesting is in the middle - Vesturdalur.

Vesturdalur is prime hiking area, with weaving trails leading to many lava rock formations all around. In particular, Hljóðaklettar (Echo Rocks) and Rauðhólar (Red Hills) trails can be easily done from the carpark in a 2-3 hour loop. The basalt rock (formed by rapidly cooling lava) formations at Hljóðaklettar is the highlight for me. You may have seen the basalt columns in Vik, or the many lava fields all around Iceland, but nothing quite like this. Here, the basalt rock lined horizontally (hence columns is not the right word eh), and even at bizarre angles. Parts of the rock formations are also being cut off yielding eye-catching honeycomb patterns! It's mind-boggling how rapidly cooling lava can produce such "art pieces"! There are also lava caves formed by these basalt formations.

Rauðhólar is a crater row which provides a wonderful panoramic view of the canyon, and itself offers some colorful touch to the landscapes. It is easily done together with the Hljóðaklettar trail. For those who have more time and energy, there is a popular 2-day trek that goes from north (Ásbyrgi) to south (Dettifoss). Otherwise, there are parking lots on all 3 sections of the Jökulsárgljúfur Canyon.

Colorful Rauðhólar

If you are using public transport, there are summer buses going to all these places from Akureyri or Mývatn but do check the schedules carefully at http://www.sba.is/

Check Hljóðaklettar out !

Durmitor National Park, Montenegro

Most travelers to Montenegro would make a beeline to its coast, notably to Kotor or Budva. And why not? Easily accessed from Dubrovnik in Croatia, Montenegro's tourism could easily benefit from Dubrovnik's popularity. But for those who love mountains, Montenegro has something to offer too!

Up in the northern part of Montenegro, Durmitor National Park is Montenegro's biggest national park. It is also inscribed in UNESCO's World Heritage Sites. Within the park are 18 glacier lakes and the Durmitor mountain range consists of 48 peaks. 3 river canyons meander through it, of which the Tara river canyon is the biggest at 80km long and 1300m deep! So in terms of scenery, sights, and activities, there are certainly no lack of it for tourists.

Zabljak - early "spring"

The access town to Durmitor National Park is Zabljak. During winter, most tourists come for skiing and in summer, there are plenty of hiking opportunities to keep tourists happy. In fact, just a short distance away from the town is one of the most popular of Durmitor's 18 glacier lakes - Black Lake. Numerous hiking trails surround the lake too, and so, makes for an easy and excellent outing from Zabljak.

Black Lake

Aside from glorious mountain views, the Tara river provides another avenue for a popular tourist activity - river rafting. Set within the Tara canyon, the river shone like a turquoise snake in the mountainside. And one of the best views of the canyon, river and mountains is from the Curovac viewpoint, 9km from Zabljak. However, when I was there in early spring, there was still heavy snow, and I couldn't quite make it to the viewpoint. Even then, from a rest-point along the trail, the views were already stunning!

Rest point with a view

Trail to Curovac viewpoint

The Tara River and Canyon

Durmitor National Park - winter to spring

Zabljak is easily reached from Podgorica, and Kotor even. For those who are touring the Balkans, try the border crossing from Bosnia and Herzegovina into Montenegro. Take the Sarajevo-Niksic bound bus. While not as popular, the scenery at the border crossing is fabulous!

Do check out the mountains of Montenegro!

Changbaishan Canyon (大峽谷)

Another attraction in the Changbaishan scenic area is the Changbaishan Canyon (大峽谷). It is quite a deep canyon (going down 100m), with some interesting rock formations within it. However, it requires a separate entrance ticket, and its actually quite a distance from the Changbaishan park entrance at the northern slope.




The canyon itself is surrounded by pine forests, and looks really pretty in winter. There is a boardwalk running through the canyon, and makes for a very pleasant walk. The guidebook suggested that its a 40min walk, but I took almost 2hrs as I love photographing the winter scenes. Moreover, I seem to be the first and only visitor, as the boardwalk is covered with snow with no footprints at all. The boardwalk is on a raised platform, and with heavy snow, the edge of the boardwalk became barely distinguishable. So, extra care must be taken not to accidentally step off the boardwalk!



So, is the additional trip and entrance ticket worth it? Well, I enjoyed myself quite alot in there. However, in other seasons, the sceneries will be different, so your enjoyment mileage may vary :)