Despite thehigh Leontyne Price , Iceland is a wildly pop vacation blot for foreigners — and American travelers in picky . But tourists see Iceland in the spring and early summertime may be disappointed to incur that one of the island ’s most beautiful locations is off - limit . AsCondé Nast Travelerreports , Fjaðrárgljúfur Canyon will be close until June , and Justin Bieber is being blamed .
Fjaðrárgljúfur is a 1 - mile - long,330 - foot - deepcanyon located in the southern part of the land . The river that runs through it is shallow enough to hike in , pass water it a democratic spot for tourists looking to experience Iceland ’s vegetation and geology up close .
But in recent years , Fjaðrárgljúfur has become too democratic for its own good . The number of visitant to the canon rose from150,000 in 2016and to 282,000 in 2017 , forcing the site to close up for recovery a few times since then .
What ’s the reason for the spectacular spike ? Some hoi polloi say Justin Bieber had something to do with it : In 2015 , he free his euphony video for " I ’ll Show You , " which shows him walk around andlooking moodyin what was once a hidden gemstone of Iceland .
But the pop adept does n’t deserve all the blame . Iceland ’s overall number of extraneous visitorsquadrupledbetween 2010 and 2017 , thanks in part tocheap airfareand innovativetourism cause . Fjaðrárgljúfur is just one example of how the little island nation has struggled to accommodate the influx of tourists .
" It ’s just a innate wonder that was n’t meant to be that pop , " Inga Hlin Palsdottir , the director of Iceland ’s tourism agency , toldCNN Travel . " We need to progress a in effect infrastructure there so we can invite hoi polloi all year around . "
In the spring , the ice and snow in Fjaðrárgljúfur Canyon thaw , go away trail wet and sloughy . Not only is this dangerous for tramp , but it makes the canyon more vulnerable to the peril of constant foot traffic .
After the canyon has a few months to recover , it will unfold back up to tourer in meter for the busy summer season . If you ’re plan a slip to Iceland before then , there areplenty of sitesto check out that are just as impressive .
[ h / tCondé Nast Traveler ]
