Kirkjubaejarklaust

Kirkjubæjarklaustur — often mercifully shortened to ‘Klaustur’ by locals — is a small village in south-east Iceland with a remarkably eventful past. A medieval convent (klaustur) operated here from 1186 until the Reformation, and in 1783 the local minister Jón Steingrímsson preached the famous ‘Fire Mass’ that reportedly stopped the deadly Skaftáreldar lava flow at the edge of the village. The hexagonal Kirkjugólf (‘Church Floor’) basalt column formation nearby was long mistaken for the floor of an ancient church.

The village is a practical gateway to the stark lava fields of Eldhraun and Laki, the waterfalls Systrafoss and Stjórnarfoss, and the sweeping landscape between the Mýrdalsjökull and Vatnajökull ice caps. The Skaftá river canyon and the Fjaðrárgljúfur canyon are within a short drive and reward those who detour off the Ring Road.

Kirkjubæjarklaustur sits on the Ring Road (Route 1) roughly 270 km east of Reykjavík. It has a guesthouse, a supermarket, a petrol station, and a visitor information centre — making it the last reliable fuel and services stop before the long, sparsely populated stretch to Höfn. The Laki craters (Lakagígar) require a 4WD and are accessible only in summer.