Skógar is a small village located on the south coast of Iceland between Vík in the east and the town Hvolsvöllur the in the west it is located about 150 kilometres from the capital Reykjavík.

Skógar was settled by the viking Þrasi. He built his farm right next to the waterfall and the story says that he hid his treasure behind the waterfall. When the locals see the Rainbow coming out from underneath the waterfall they believe that this the reflection of the gold that is hidden there underneath. The story says that once there were two young boys walking past the waterfall and they saw the treasure chest coming out from underneath so they pulled the ring on the side of the chest, the ring went out from the chest and the chest went back underneath the waterfall. Now you can find the Ring from Þrasi treasure chest in the local museum in Skógar.

In 1949 the farmer's in Skógar gave land to the government for them to build a boarding school for the young people in the area. The school building was designed by the architect Guðjón Samúelsson, State Architect of Iceland for many years, the two of his most famous designs are Hallgrímskirkja church in Reykjavík and the main building of the University of Iceland. He use to get his inspiration from Icelandic nature.

Skógar Museum

Skógar also holds one of the best museum in Iceland the Skógar folk museum (Skógasafn) as well as big transportation museum and a cafeteria. The museum was founded in 1950 by Þórður Tómasson who started collecting things from the past only 13 years old. He has been building up in the scene with the local authorities in the area and now the museum is one of the best known museum in Iceland and the perfect place if you'd like to know how it was to live in Iceland in the old days.



The glacier and volcano Eyjafjallajökull (last eruption in 2010) is located nearby Skógar as well as many great waterfalls, like more than 20 waterfalls in the Skógá river, the most famous is Skógafoss (62 m high) and not far from Skógafoss you can find the beautiful waterfall Kvernufoss waterfall. Skógar is also the beginning of the hiking path across the mountain pass of Fimmvörðuháls over to the valley Þórsmörk. This one of the most popular hiking path in Iceland.

Directions

The drive from Reykjavík to Skógar is about 2 hours (150 km) on Ring Road nr. 1.

The camping area by the waterfall Skógarfoss 
The old houses at Skógar during winter in Iceland
The old church at Skógar Iceland
It is possible to check out the old Icelandic houses at the Skogar Museum
The magnificent waterfall Skógarfoss
The surrounding area at Skógar is just beautiful 
The view from the top of Skógarfoss waterfall and the beginning of the popular hike Fimmvörðuháls
The camping area by the waterfall Skógarfoss 
The old houses at Skógar during winter in Iceland
The old church at Skógar Iceland
It is possible to check out the old Icelandic houses at the Skogar Museum
The magnificent waterfall Skógarfoss
The surrounding area at Skógar is just beautiful 
The view from the top of Skógarfoss waterfall and the beginning of the popular hike Fimmvörðuháls

The camping area by the waterfall Skógarfoss 

The old houses at Skógar during winter in Iceland

The old church at Skógar Iceland

It is possible to check out the old Icelandic houses at the Skogar Museum

The magnificent waterfall Skógarfoss

The surrounding area at Skógar is just beautiful 

The view from the top of Skógarfoss waterfall and the beginning of the popular hike Fimmvörðuháls