History
Skaftafell is mentioned early in the Saga of Burnt Njal a popular Icelandic Saga. It is home to some of the best fertile land in the country and so has a long history of farming. Unfortunately, it also has a history of severe flooding, when volcanoes under the Vatnjökul glacier cause mass melting and flooding of the low lands. As a consequence, farmers abandoned their lush lowland farms and moved to higher ground.
Understand
The park lies on the west side of Vatnajökull - Europe's largest glacier. Skaftafell is the name of the hill that runs along one of the glacier fingers and between the mountains. There is a visitor center open til 4pm and campsite open mid May with full amenities and disability access.
Landscape
Lowland, rivers, black sand, a very big glacier, some picturesque mountains, hills, waterfalls, quicksand, quiet brooks - what more could you ask for?
The Skaftafell is the hill where farmers settled to avoid the floods from the giant glacier. There are well established hiking paths up the hill where you can access viewpoints that look across the glaciers, several stunning waterfalls, and a mixture of fauna and bird life. The high point of the hill is around 600m and takes around two hours to reach the highest point. One of the highlights of the trek is Svartifoss Black Falls, with stunningly beautiful black basalt columns around the falls. There is a road that goes to quite near the top allowing disabled access to the stunning views.
Climate
The Eastern side of Iceland is the leeward side getting less precipitation than the Western side. Consequentially, this sea-level area is part of the low desert in Iceland, the high desert being represented by the area East of Mývatn.