Hjörleifshöfði Cave

also known as

Gýgagjá

or simply,

Yoda Cave

Hjörleifshöfði is an inselberg in Southern Iceland, 15km away from Vik. It’s basically a huge rock made of palagonite (volcanic rock) raising up to 220m out of Mýrdalssandur, a vast glacial outwash plain of black sand and nothingness.

The rock’s most popular feature is a small cave to its south-west. From the outside, it’s just two cracks on the side of a mountain leading into a chamber. From the inside though, the opening has a very distinctive outline that would instantly remind you of the famous Star Wars character. It’s pretty cool. And that’s about it.

Like many former hidden gems in Iceland, this spot has become quite popular in recent years through the wonders of social media. The cave also featured in the Star Wars spin-off Rogue One as the actual cave of Yoda - easy job there for the location scouting team. However, the place remains somewhat outside of the tourist trail, despite its accessibility. There was no one around when we visited mid-day in September 2019.

The cave is very easy to access with your personal car, and it lies only 2.5km away from the main road. There is no need to cross any streams.

Please don’t leave your car right in front of the entrance and ruin everyone’s view, the main reason that brought most people there! There is plenty of space nearby.

You can also hike up to the top of the rock if you have time to spare, the trail starts to the west of Hjorleifshofdi, and you would see it as you drive towards the cave.

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