Why this ride
Out of Húsavík and back again: 263 km, roughly 4 h 36 in the saddle. The stops in between: Asbyrgi, Dettifoss, Myvatn and Godafoss. A steady touring day rather than a sprint.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Diamond Circle from Húsavík
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 263 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 4 h 36
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Scenic road chapters
Diamond Circle
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For about 34 km this is Diamond Circle, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 34 km
- Named road
- Diamond Circle
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Husavik
Húsavík is the town that decided to make whales its trade and has done very well from the decision. It sits on the shore of Skjálfandi bay in north Iceland, facing across the water to the snowy peaks of the Tröllaskagi range, and a row of brightly painted wooden boats waits at the harbour for visitors. The bay is one of the best places in Europe to see humpback whales, along with minke whales, porpoises and sometimes blue whales, and tours run from spring to autumn, sailing out on old oak fishing boats. Many boats provide warm overalls, and you will be glad of them.
Read the complete Husavik write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Husavik is where the day begins. Next is Asbyrgi.
2. Ásbyrgi
Ásbyrgi is a horseshoe-shaped canyon in the north-east of Iceland, about three and a half kilometres long and a kilometre wide, with vertical cliffs of around a hundred metres on three sides. The old story says it was made when Sleipnir, the eight-legged horse of Odin, put one hoof down on the earth, and from the air the shape does look like an enormous print. The scientific explanation is just as dramatic: catastrophic floods from the glacial river Jökulsá á Fjöllum carved it out in the aftermath of eruptions beneath the ice, in at least two huge episodes long before anyone lived here.
Read the complete Asbyrgi write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Ásbyrgi comes up about 63 km into the recorded legs. Next is Dettifoss.
3. Dettifoss
Dettifoss is not the highest waterfall in Iceland, but it is the most powerful in Europe by volume, and standing next to it you quickly believe the claim. The glacial river Jökulsá á Fjöllum, grey with silt, tips over a rim about a hundred metres wide and drops some forty-five metres into a canyon, sending up a cloud of spray that hangs over the plateau and soaks anyone who gets too close. The noise is a constant roar, and the ground trembles slightly under your boots.
Read the complete Dettifoss write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 97 km into the recorded legs you reach Dettifoss. Next is Myvatn.
4. Mývatn
Mývatn means midge lake, and the name is honest, because in early summer clouds of small, harmless flies hang above the water and rise from the shore in a shimmering haze. They are the foundation of an ecosystem that feeds one of the richest populations of breeding ducks in Europe, and in June the lake is crowded with them. Bring a face cover in still weather, and keep your visor closed.
Read the complete Myvatn write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Myvatn, about halfway. Next is Godafoss.
5. Goðafoss
Goðafoss is the waterfall of the gods, and its name comes from a story. In the year 1000, when the Icelandic parliament decided that the country should adopt Christianity, the lawspeaker Þorgeir Ljósvetningagoði is said to have thrown his statues of the old Norse gods into the falls on his way home, and the name has stuck ever since. Whether or not it happened exactly that way, the story fits the place, where the river Skjálfandafljót drops in a wide, curving horseshoe over a basalt ledge, about twelve metres high and thirty metres across.
Read the complete Godafoss write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Goðafoss sits at 133 km, late in the day. Next is Husavik.
6. Husavik
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Husavik write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 263 km.
Leg by leg
Husavik to Asbyrgi
Husavik → Asbyrgi is 63 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Ásbyrgi to Dettifoss
Ásbyrgi → Dettifoss is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Dettifoss to Myvatn
Dettifoss → Myvatn is 78 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Mývatn to Godafoss
Mývatn → Godafoss is 40 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Goðafoss to Husavik
Goðafoss → Husavik is 47 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
More motorcycle rides nearby
- Arctic Coast Way (719 km) · 595 km
- Diamond Circle (105 km) · 152 km
- Arctic Coast Way: Siglufjordur to Raufarhofn · 284 km
- Arctic Coast Way: Husavik to Bakkafjordur · 242 km