Fjallsárlón - Lesser Known Glacial Lagoon in Iceland

While everyone who has looked into travelling to Iceland has heard of the famous Glacial Lagoon – Jökulsárlón – fewer have heard of its smaller and much less frequented neighbour: Fjallsárlón.

At a tiny 4 km² / 1.5 square miles, Fjallsárlón is much smaller than Jökulsárlón, but in this case size does not matter. While Jökulsárlón may have larger icebergs (and the area and facilities to support the rush of tourists), just 10 minutes down the road at Fjallsárlón, you may not see another soul. Fjallsárlón also has a wealth of icebergs and while these do tend to be smaller than the ones in Jökulsárlón, they are much closer and wash up on the shore full sized. The glacier tongue (which is the name of an offshoot) that they calf from is also right there.

While there is a river that flows into Fjallsárlón, the Breiðá River, it has little to no outlet and does not connect to the ocean. Rather the icebergs simply wash on the shore and melt directly there.

Like Jökulsárlón you can also see blue, white and clear ice layers in the iceberg here, as well as marbled ones on ocassion.

To get to the area with Fjallsárlón and Jökulsárlón from Reykjavik, simply take Route 1 towards Vik. The trip will take approximately 5 hours and is about 379 km / 236 miles long. Both glacial lakes will be well signposted.

Parking at Fjallsárlón is separate from the fee you pay at Jökulsárlón. Fjallsárlón parking costs 1,000 ISK (October 2025: $8.21 USD, £6.14, €7.07) and allows you park there the entire day.

There are also some good hiking routes around Fjallsárlón. The land around Jökulsárlón is very flat whereas Fjallsárlón has a lot of elevation changes, especially from the carpark to the lake’s edge. You can hike around the lake (and near the glacier), cross country through the glacial runoff plain, or even towards the coast and bank.