Abandoned DC-3 plane wreck

Even though Iceland is filled with countless abandoned structures and machines (some of which only appear abandoned and non-functional!), the wreck of the Dakota DC-3 aircraft of the U.S. Navy, which made an emergency landing here on November 24, 1973, is by far the most famous among them. It is a popular Icelandic stop even for those who generally do not care about abandoned and decaying objects. However, with the increasing tourist traffic, even abandoned sites in Iceland no longer enjoy peace and quiet. While it is nice to be here, considering that this stop takes at least 2 hours (most of which involves walking through rather boring scenery), if you’re on a quick trip around Iceland, you might want to focus on other attractions.

Since 2016, the journey to the abandoned DC-3 has become more complicated for motorists. The landowners have prohibited vehicle access from Route 1 (and unfortunately, one can hardly blame them!). There is now a fairly large parking lot near the road (GPS: 63.491082, -19.363092), from where you need to walk about 40 minutes (through fairly dull terrain) towards the ocean.

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Text & Photos by RubΣn

A guy with extensive knowledge of Iceland, a secret formula for nice weather and a map to places you didn’t know existed.

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