Skógar (pronounced [ˈskouː(ɣ)ar̥] ), literally "forests", is a small Icelandic village with a population of roughly 25 located at the south of the Eyjafjallajökull glacier, in the municipality of Rangárþing eystra.
The area is known for its waterfall, Skógafoss, on the Skógá [ˈskouː(ɣ)ˌauː] river, which springs from 60 metres at the top of an eroded cliff. At Skógar is a folk museum, Skógasafn [ˈskouː(ɣ)aˌsapn̥], as well as a museum on transport in Iceland.
Vík (Icelandic pronunciation: [ˈviːk] ), known as Vík í Mýrdal ([ˈviːk iː ˈmirˌtaːl̥], lit. 'Vík in Mire Dale') in full, is the southernmost village in Iceland. It is located on the main ring road around the island, and is around 180 km (110 mi) southeast of Reykjavík by road.
Despite its small size (750 inhabitants in Mýrdalshreppur as of January 2021) it is the largest settlement for some 70 km (43 mi) around and is an important staging post. It is an important service center for both inhabitants and visitors to the coastal strip between Skógar and the west edge of the Mýrdalssandur glacial outwash plain.
Eyjafjallajökull (Icelandic: [ˈeiːjaˌfjatl̥aˌjœːkʏtl̥] ; "glacier of (the mountain) Eyjafjöll"), sometimes referred to by the numeronym E15, is one of the smaller ice caps of Iceland, north of Skógar and west of Mýrdalsjökull. The ice cap covers the caldera of a volcano with a summit elevation of 1,651 metres (5,417 ft). The volcano has erupted relatively frequently since the Last Glacial Period, most recently in 2010, when, although relatively small for a volcanic eruption, it caused enormous disruption to air travel across northern and western Europe for a week.
An attic (sometimes referred to as a loft) is a space found directly below the pitched roof of a house or other building. It is also known as a sky parlor or a garret. Because they fill the space between the ceiling of a building's top floor and its slanted roof, attics are known for being awkwardly-shaped spaces with difficult-to-reach corners and often exposed rafters.
While some attics are converted into bedrooms, home offices, or attic apartments complete with windows and staircases, most remain difficult to access, and are usually entered using a loft hatch and ladder. Attics help control temperatures in a house by providing a large mass of slowly moving air, and are often used for storage. The hot air rising from the lower floors of a building is often retained in attics, further compounding their reputation as inhospitable environments. However, in recent years, they have been insulated to help decrease heating costs, since uninsulated attics account for 15% of the energy loss in average houses.
Rangárþing eystra (Icelandic pronunciation: [ˈrauŋkˌaurˌθiŋk ˌeistra] ) is a municipality located in southern Iceland in the Southern Region, between Eystri Rangá in the west and Jökulsá á Sólheimasandi in the east. The largest settlements are Skógar and Hvolsvöllur.
Skógafoss (pronounced [ˈskouː(ɣ)aˌfɔsː] ) is a waterfall on the Skógá River in the south of Iceland at the cliff marking the former coastline. After the coastline had receded (it is now at a distance of about 5 kilometres (3 miles) from Skógar), the former sea cliffs remained, parallel to the coast over hundreds of kilometres, creating together with some mountains a clear border between the coastal lowlands and the Highlands of Iceland.
Fimmvörðuháls (Icelandic pronunciation: [ˈfɪmːˌvœrðʏˌhauls] ; "five cairns pass") is the area between the glaciers Eyjafjallajökull and Mýrdalsjökull in southern Iceland. The route between Skógar and Thórsmörk goes through this pass and is one of the most popular walking routes in Iceland, despite being 22 kilometres (14 mi) long and involving 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) of climbing. There are two mountain huts along Fimmvörðuháls, one owned by hiking association Útivist, the other called Baldvinsskáli ([ˈpaltˌvɪnsˌskauːlɪ]). The route from Skógar has many waterfalls along the way. The route is only accessible between mid-June and late-August. On the night of 16 May 1970, three travellers died in the mountain pass in a snowstorm.
Hiking the Fimmvörðuháls mountain pass takes 1–2 days. It is also possible to combine the Fimmvörðuháls route with the Laugavegur Trek between Landmannalaugar and Thórsmörk to make a trip of 4–6 days in length.