Popular tourist site Fjaðrárgljúfur canyon will reopen next week, RÚV reports. The canyon has been closed to visitors since February 27 in order to protect its flora, which had been damaged by a combination of wet weather and foot traffic.
“There was ankle-deep mud on the path which guests avoided and went increasingly further out of the path which caused damage to wet and sensitive vegetation,” stated Daníel Freyr Jónsson, a specialist at the Environment Agency of Iceland. Daníel says the closure has achieved its purpose and the area is now green and grassy.
This is the second time this year the canyon is closed due to environmental damage. It was also closed last year for the same reason. The number of tourists visiting the canyon nearly doubled from 2016-2017, in part due to Justin Bieber’s video for I’ll Show You, filmed at the location and released in 2015.
Repairs are currently being made to the walking path along the canyon. It is scheduled to reopen next week, no later than June 1.
