Hljodaklettar

Hljodaklettar means the echo rocks, and what stands there is the plumbing of a row of craters: catastrophic glacial floods down the Jokulsa a Fjollum stripped away the loose cones and left the solid rock that had filled the vents. Because the lava cooled around curving conduits rather than on a flat surface, the basalt columns fan, spiral and lie horizontally instead of standing upright, and the effect at close range is disorienting. Names along the loop point out particular shapes - the church, the troll. Sound bounces oddly among the formations, which is where the name comes from. A marked path of two to three kilometres links them from Vesturdalur.

What you actually see

• The insides of volcanic vents - cones stripped away by glacial floods.
• Columns in every direction - fanned, spiralled and horizontal basalt.
• Named shapes along the loop - the church and the troll among them.
• Odd echoes - the effect the place is named for.

When to go

June to September; road 862 north of here is seasonal. Two to three hours.

Honest expectations

The path is uneven with loose sections and some scrambling. The road in is gravel for a long stretch. Sandflies and midges gather in still weather by the river. Facilities are a car park and campsite at Vesturdalur.

Nearby

Asbyrgi is north; Dettifoss is upstream to the south.