Latest Tourist Craze In Reykjavik Iceland
BUILDING CAIRNS
What the heck do all the those cairns (man-made piles of stones) by the Harpa Concert Hall and Conference Centre in Reykjavik mean? Do they mark a thousand diverging paths on the shoreline of Faxafloi Bay? No! They reflect the latest tourist craze of piling up stones for no apparent reason other than creating a backdrop for a selfie or two!
My stock image can be licensed from Adobe Fotolia, here as well as from some other online sites.
If you have visited Reykjavik in the past, and visited again this year you likely were as amazed as I was at how quickly hundreds of cairns have suddenly appeared and multiplied by the day! The locals have mixed feelings about them, because cairn building is an ancient tradition in Iceland, as it is in many Celtic countries too like my native Scotland.
My stock image can be licensed from Adobe Fotolia, here as well as from some other online sites.
Traditionally, cairns were built in Iceland to mark ancient routes across the highlands before the days of GPS and modern transportation. There are still many ancient cairns in Iceland which must not be tampered with, and any cairn building in Þingvellir National Park in South Iceland and other nature reserves is strictly forbidden. Whenever farmers see these tourists cairns, they make a point of tearing them down.
My stock image can be licensed from Adobe Fotolia, here as well as from some other online sites.
I am sure that most tourists mean no harm by their cairn building, but native Icelanders would like to see tourists better educated about the damage to the natural environment that occurs with cairn building – especially in remote areas where gaps are left in the moss where stones have been removed. They need to know that the ancient Viking cairns are not to be added to or tampered with in any way.
My stock image can be licensed from Shutterstock, here as well as from some other online sites.
As photogenic as these cairns are, in my opinion tourists visiting Iceland in their droves need to show more respect to the Icelanders, to their way of life and to the natural environment! Leave the cairn building to those who rely on the cairns as markers of highland hiking trails!
(Check out my collection of souvenir Iceland products on Zazzle, here**
I actually didn't know that... I always thought it was just a hobby!
Well, learn something new everyday... :)
Thank you for telling us and also about the situation in Iceland!
It's seemingly a terrible problem in the national parks, and they are worried about ancient cairns being destroyed.
Wow! How incredibly rude of them!
Sheesh.... Some people.
Not sure that anyone is intentionally doing anything wrong, but the whole beach has changed!
Our, this is pretty bizarre! Over what length of time have these appeared? Days? Weeks? Years? It would be weird if it was only in the last month!
Over the last year. I was the last year in September, and there were not so many. I read then that they had started appearing in the spring of 2017!
so interesting, I like photos with stones. It's very nordic atmosphere there.
Yes, it was a good photo op, I have to admit!
Very interesting.....
Yes, it is. Thanks for stopping by to comment!
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I thought we had a lot of cairns on one of our local beaches but WOW that place is amazing so many of them
You can't see the beach for cairns. LOL!
Me too, Jay. I didn't realize the significance until I read this post.
I knew of the history of Cairns in some Celtic cultures, but not that it is offensive to build them tot he Icelandic Culture, I hate to see when tourist disrespect of a culture they visit
usually, when I hear stories like this, it's Americans doing it.
Having traveled a lot I to hate that, yes I have seen many Americans do it, but also from some European Countries, and Asia, the strange thing is I do notice the similarity it seems to come from what is generally seen as the more well off countries
I love to learn about the culture of the countries I visit, and always knew that messing with ancient cairns was a no-no everywhere. However, it was during my first visit to Iceland last year that I learned about the confusion on some inland trails and the destruction of the fragile environment caused by unsuspecting cairn builders. The cairn building on the beach is probably pretty harmless, except maybe it draws attention to the greater problem elsewhere, and the Icelanders probably believe it is an eyesore on their beach. I often build and photograph cairns on the beach when I'm back in Scotland, but the tide soon washes them away!
Yes on the beaches here it is not an environmental or culture issue and I love seeing them, but more people would be like us and take time to learn a bit about the culture before visiting any place
... which brings me to a sore point I have with some of my fellow Brits who visit the USA - Orlando especially. They don't learn ahead of time that waiters rely on tips here in order to put food on the table. They don't get minimum wage, but if tips don't reach minimum wage, then the employer has to kick in. I always tip 20% for good service, 15% for OK service, 10% if it's terrible! I tell my friends and family that in the US you figure out if you can afford to eat at a place before going out by figuring in the tip. I learned of one family who visits Orlando often - and never tips! Rant over!
Ohh yes that embarrasses me when I see people from down under do that, I to tip 20% minimum, and the trouble was when I used to go back to NZ I forgot tipping wasnt done there and still did it
Haha. Me too! But now I know it’s just loose change!
What a great post. I really learned something. I posted a picture of modern cairns in Southern California and referenced your article so people could have a better understanding of the phenomenon and it's ancient significance.
Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed it. I love to learn of a country's culture as much as possible before visiting it, but I must admit that it wasn't until I visited Iceland for the first time last year that I learned of the destruction to the environment in some of the inland areas with the fad! I will check out your post, and thanks for the link! :-)
Informative and educational post @dmcamera respect is something to be shown in remote areas, enjoy what is in the area, photograph, only leave your footprints behind.
When visiting northern regions we saw some unusual rock displays in the Nordic countryside it was fun learning what they represented in different regions.
Glad you enjoyed it!