Around Dyrholaey - “Door Hill Island” or the Arch with the Hole is an incredible promontory on the South Coast in Iceland. With a stunning and historical lighthouse and stunning views over the black beaches and surrounding glaciers.
Dyrhólaey or “Door Hill Island” is a 110-120 meter (360-394 ft) high cape or promontory in Mýrdalur, South of Mýrdalsjökull glacier. The cape itself is quite large, about 510 hectares (1260 acres) and its promontory is the southernmost part of Iceland.
A narrow 100-meter rock spur stretches South out of the cape into the Atlantic ocean with steep perpendicular cliffs on both sides. When looked at from the sides you will see the incredible arch-shaped opening in the cape rock, this opening gives the cape its name Dyrhólaey. Boats and even small planes have passed through the arch, hence the name Dyrhólaey. The first airplane went through the cape’s door in the year 1993 carrying two men, they ended up going through three times that day but the two men had tried for years.
Dyrhólaey was sometimes nicknamed Portland by sailors and British trawler fishermen even called it the Blow Hole. There are a few rocks pillars south off Dyrhólaey and together they create an important nesting ground for colorful birdlife, such as the Eider Duck, the Atlantic Puffin and the Arctic Terns in the lower part of the cape.
Dyrhólaey is of a volcanic origin and formed late during the last ice age in an underwater eruption similar to the eruption that took place when the island Surtsey formed in the year 1963. It is believed to be about 100 thousand years old. The “island”, or the small peninsula is often split in two, the South and the West as it is made from two different types of rock one being basalt and the other tuff.
GPS N63° 24′ 25.168″ W19° 7′ 16.344″
Dyrhólaey is located close to the coastal village of Vík on the South Coast in Iceland and can easily be visited with only a short detour from the famous Ring Road. It is about 181 km (112,4 mi) away from Reykjavík and 18,9 km (11,7 mi) driving from Vík.
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