Egilsstaðir
Egilsstaðir is the largest town in East Iceland, with a population of around 2,500 people, and serves as the main service, transport, and administrative hub for the entire region. It sits on the banks of the Lagarfljót river in the Fljótsdalshérað valley, directly on the Ring Road, and has its own domestic airport with connections to Reykjavík. Founded only in 1947, it is one of Iceland's newer towns, but its central location makes it the natural base for exploring the Eastfjords, Hallormsstaður forest, Hengifoss waterfall, and Lake Lagarfljót, whose resident serpent Lagarfljótsormur has been Iceland's answer to the Loch Ness Monster since the 14th century.
East Iceland's Main Hub, with a Legendary Lake Monster and Some of the Region's Best Day Trip Country on Its Doorstep
Egilsstaðir was officially established in 1947 as a service centre for the farms and fishing communities of East Iceland, making it one of the country's youngest towns. Despite its modest size of around 2,500 residents, it has grown into the commercial, administrative, and transport backbone of the entire Austurland region. The Ring Road passes directly through the town, the domestic airport connects it to Reykjavík in under an hour, and a network of roads fans out from Egilsstaðir into the remote Eastfjords to the east and the highland interior to the west. The town centre has hotels, restaurants, a geothermal swimming pool, supermarkets, and a petrol station, making it the natural point for Ring Road travellers to stop, restock, and sleep before heading further into the east.
The immediate surroundings of Egilsstaðir offer some of the most rewarding day trip options in East Iceland. Lake Lagarfljót, which stretches for over 25 kilometres alongside the town, is one of Iceland's longest lakes and has been associated since the 14th century with the Lagarfljótsormur, a serpentine creature described in Icelandic sagas and reportedly sighted periodically ever since. The famous Hallormsstaður forest, Iceland's largest at 740 hectares, grows on the eastern shore of the lake about 27 kilometres south of town and has over 40 kilometres of hiking and biking trails. Hengifoss, one of Iceland's tallest waterfalls at 128 metres, is also accessible from the lake road and involves a scenic 2.5-kilometre hike up to its canyon viewpoint. The Skriðuklaustur monastery ruins, dating to the 15th century, and the East Iceland Museum add cultural depth for those spending more than a night.
The Eastfjords region stretching east and south from Egilsstaðir is one of the least visited parts of Iceland and offers dramatic fjord scenery, small fishing villages, reindeer herds in the highland fringes, and a pace of travel noticeably different from the busier tourist circuits to the west. Reyðarfjörður, Eskifjörður, and Seyðisfjörður are the most accessible fjord villages, with Seyðisfjörður in particular earning a reputation for its colourful art scene and as the Faroese ferry terminal connecting Iceland to Denmark and the Faroe Islands. From Reykjavík, Egilsstaðir is approximately 700 kilometres east along the Ring Road, a drive of around seven hours without stops.
