Iceland Travel GuideLOCAL TRAVEL AGENCY IN ICELAND
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Iceland Travel GuideLOCAL TRAVEL AGENCY IN ICELAND
My trip
Talk to a local
Sigöldugljúfur canyon, known as the Valley of Tears, is a narrow, moss-lined canyon fed by dozens of small waterfalls near the Sigalda power station in the Highlands. It is about 170 km (around 2.5 hours) from Reykjavík on the road towards Landmannalaugar, free to enter, reached by 4x4 and a short walk, and open roughly from June to September.
Sigöldugljúfur is a short, deep canyon where dozens of thin streams trickle down green, moss-covered walls into the river below, especially after rain or snowmelt. It sits close to the Sigalda hydropower station, and the canyon itself is easy to reach compared with many highland sights, needing only a short, flat walk from the car park.
The nickname Valley of Tears comes from the many small waterfalls that seem to weep down the rock face rather than any one dramatic drop. The colours are what people remember: bright turquoise water on the canyon floor, green moss and plants on the walls, and black sand and lava all around.
The river Tungnaá once filled this canyon. When the Sigalda power station was built, most of its water was led away through channels to the turbines, which left the calm blue stream and the thin waterfalls you see today. On the walk in you can see the reservoir behind the dam.
Photos of the canyon have spread widely online, yet it stays quiet. It is in the Highlands, the road is only open in summer, and most scheduled tours drive straight past on the way to Landmannalaugar. If you have a 4x4, or book a private highland tour, it is an easy and rewarding stop on the same stretch of road.
The northern stretch of this road, from Road 26 to Landmannalaugar, has no river crossings and is now numbered 208 rather than F208, but it is still rough, unpaved and open only in summer, and car rental companies generally require a 4x4. Road conditions can change through the season; check road.is before you set out.
The canyon is in the Highlands, where there are no services. A little planning makes the trip easy.
The canyon is on the way to Landmannalaugar, one of the best-known places in the Icelandic Highlands. The name means 'the people's pools', after the natural hot spring where locals and travellers have bathed for centuries. Around it are colourful rhyolite mountains, lava fields and some of the country's most popular hiking trails.
From Sigöldugljúfur it is about 24 km and 45 minutes further along the same road. The last approach to the campsite involves a river ford that you can avoid by parking before it and walking across the footbridge.
We recommend at least two days for this trip if you can: one for the drive in, the canyon and an evening soak, and one for hiking at Landmannalaugar.
None at the site: no toilets, food, water or fuel. The nearest facilities are at Landmannalaugar or back towards the Ring Road.
There is no accommodation directly at the canyon. Highland huts at Landmannalaugar, or guesthouses in South Iceland towns such as Hella or Hvolsvöllur, are the nearest bases.
Yes. The road is rough gravel from the Sigalda power station onwards and open only in summer, and rental companies generally require a 4x4 for it.
Because dozens of thin waterfalls run down the canyon walls, as if the rock were weeping.
Drive Ring Road 1 past Selfoss, then Roads 30, 32 and 26, and turn south onto Road 208 towards Landmannalaugar. The car park is about 3 km past the Sigalda power station. It is about 170 km and 2.5 hours.
About 1 km each way on flat ground from the car park, roughly a 20–30 minute round trip at a relaxed pace.
No, there is no fee to visit the canyon.
Yes, the two are about 24 km apart on the same highland route and are often visited on the same day.
Tours and trips that include Sigöldugljúfur, booked directly with a local travel agency in Iceland.
