Laxá in Adaldalur is not only one of Iceland’s most water-rich spring-fed rivers but also the most beautiful and one of the best (and most expensive) salmon and trout fishing rivers in the country. Its source is Lake Mývatn, and it flows through Laxárdalur and Adaldalur before emptying into the sea at Skjálfandi Bay, just south of Húsavík. Salmon migrates upstream as far as the Laxá Power Station near Laxá Canyon, while beautiful trout can be caught further upstream, all the way to the Mývatn area.
The natural beauty along its path to the sea is extraordinary, as the river flows over a lava bed and winds through countless bends on its journey northward to the Arctic Ocean. Near or along Laxá are two exceptionally beautiful turf farmsteads that belong to the National Museum of Iceland: Grenjadarstadur in Adaldalur and Thverá in Laxárdalur. The Act on the Protection of Laxá in Adaldalur and Lake Mývatn came into effect 20 years ago, in 2004.
It takes an hour to drive from Akureyri to Laxá heading northeast, and five more hours from Reykjavík.
Laxá, December 5, 2024: A7R IV, RX1R II – FE 1.8/14mm GM, 2.0/35mm Z, FE 1.2/50mm GM
Images & Text: Páll Stefánsson
