There’s a lot to see and explore around Iceland’s mysterious inselberg Hjorleifshofdi east of the town of Vik. I have previously posted about the hike up to the top of Hjorleifshofdi and also the incredible Yoda Cave on the ocean side of the inselberg. But there’s more, much more, to discover at this fascinating destination.
This is the ocean side of Hjorleifshofdi.
In addition to Yoda Cave, there is another shallow cave to explore.
A drone photo of Yoda Cave and surrounding area. Notice the circles in the sand. Though this is probably a spot where people turn around in their vehicles, these circles look a little too perfectly round. I’m not saying these are “sand circles” like crop circles, but perhaps there is something more here than meets the eye.
After investigating Yoda Cave, I proceeded east down the black sand beach towards two dramatic pillars of rock. The pillars are called Lasadrangur (the larger rock) and Arnardrangur (in the background in the above photo). It is a very otherworldly scene.
One thousand years ago this area was ocean and these rocks probably protruded from the sea like the sea stacks at Reynisfjara a couple of miles away. In fact, Hjorleifshofdi was an island off the south coast of Iceland a thousand years ago, but flood deposits from various volcanic eruptions (especially the Katla eruptions in 1660 and 1918) during the last millennium have created land around the inselberg. Today, this area south of Hjorleifshofdi (known as Kötlutangi) is a wide black sand beach and is the southernmost point on Iceland. The coast is 1.25 kilometers away.
Above: Arnardrangur
On the east end of Hjorleifshofdi on the ocean side is another pillar of rock called Latur.
After checking out Latur, I continued on the dirt road around to the east side of Hjorleifshofdi. And just when I thought I had seen it all at this location, I was astonished to see what looked like some kind of Viking worship circle made of stones in the most beautiful meadow I had ever seen. The spot was tucked away next to a completely vertical cliff wall of Hjorleifshofdi. I could hardly believe it.
Be careful of falling rocks at this location. This one put a dent in the ground. Imagine what it would do to your head!
Later, after my visit to Iceland, I did some research and discovered the stone circle was actually from the 1995 New Line Cinema movie The Viking Sagas. This action/adventure movie, starring Ralf Moeller, Ingiborg Stefansdottir and Sven-Ole Thorsen, follows the quest of a young Viking warrior seeking to avenge his father’s death in Iceland. The stone circle and location at Hjorleifshofdi can be seen in screenshots from the movie (below).
After the Viking worship circle location, the dirt road continues for a bit before a dead end.
