Reykjavík · Iceland
Elliðaárdalur
Green river valley inside the city that you can reach by city bus: walk to the Árbæjarstífla dam, where trees and the valley sides cut out some of the street light. Darker than the centre, but best kept for strong displays.
See tonight's live score and best time to go for Elliðaárdalur in Aurora Atlas
Why it works for the aurora
- View
- North-west down the river valley; houses line the valley rims, so the low horizon is lit..
- Darkness
- Some light pollution, grade 3 on a scale from 0 (darkest) to 5. Glow from a nearby town; bright aurora is easy to see, faint aurora is washed out.
- Aurora
- Near the edge of the auroral oval: aurora on most active nights, low in the northern sky on quiet ones.
Getting there
- Distance
- About 9 km by road from Reykjavík (estimate), roughly 10 min by car.
- Bus or train
- Nearest stop: Árbæjarsafn (Strætó), about 500 m north of the dam.
- Coordinates
- 64.1157, -21.8164 · Open in OpenStreetMap
Before you go
Paths can be icy and some stretches are unlit: stay on the paths and keep back from the river and the dam.
Dress for standing still in the cold, bring a head torch with a red light, and park only where parking is allowed. A forecast is guidance, not a promise: check the road and weather warnings for Iceland before a night drive. See our winter safety note.
Spot information from visitreykjavik.is.