Dimmuborgir

OVERVIEW

Dimmuborgir — dimmu, dark; borgir, cities, forts or castles — is a large field of unusually shaped lava east of Lake Mývatn in the north of Iceland. It formed about 2,300 years ago when a lava lake drained away over a marsh, leaving pillars and hollow chambers made around bubbles of steam; the surface of the surrounding flow stayed intact, so Dimmuborgir sits below the land around it. Several of the chambers and pillar bases are large enough to stand inside, which is where the name 'castles' comes from.

HISTORY

In Icelandic folklore Dimmuborgir is said to connect the earth with the infernal regions. In Nordic Christian lore it is where Satan landed when he was cast out of heaven, and the formations are called the catacombs of hell. In living Icelandic Christmas tradition it is the home of the ogress Grýla, her husband Leppalúði and their thirteen sons, the Yule Lads, who come down to the settlements one a night in the thirteen days before Christmas.

REPORTED ACTIVITY

This is a place of tradition rather than reported sightings, and it is a tradition that is still in use — the Yule Lads come out at Dimmuborgir every December for Icelandic children, and Grýla's cave is shown. The entry records the oldest and most widely held association of a named Icelandic landscape with the otherworld.

VISITING

Marked walking loops of varying length from the car park; free. Stay on the paths — the lava is sharp and the formations are fragile. Route 848 east of Mývatn.