If I had to choose one county, one region that is the most beautiful in Iceland, I would naturally choose Nordur-Þingeyjarsýsla, in the northeastern corner. It has everything, except for a large population. The county is vast and sparsely populated. From Tjörnes, along Route 85, it’s about 150 km (90 miles) to Bakkafjördur, with a population of fewer than 750 people. Today, this means that about 0.2% of the nation lives here by the sea. Hraunhafnartangi on Melrakkaslétta is the northernmost point of the country, a cape that touches the Arctic Circle, just north of Raufarhöfn, the northernmost village in Iceland.
But there are countless natural gems in Nordur-Þingeyjarsýsla. One is Dettifoss in Jökulsá á Fjöllum, the most powerful waterfall in Europe. Ásbyrgi, a unique natural wonder, is also in Vatnajökull National Park, the largest national park in the country. Then there is Melrakkaslétta, the northernmost part of the country, a particularly special area, much like Langanes, which, like Melrakkaslétta, has mostly been abandoned. However, instead of people, there are hundreds of thousands of birds nesting here in the midnight sun, which is nowhere more beautiful than right here. In the winter, the Aurora Borealis light up the sky, and due to the sparse population, there’s hardly any light pollution. It should be noted that this is not an impartial article; the author/photographer was born in Öxarfjördur in Nordur-Þingeyjarsýsla. But nonetheless, everything stated here is true.
Nordur-Þingeyjarsýsla 08/08/
