Dýralækjasker

Dýralækjasker is on Mýrdalssandur sand plain and was part of the southern route over Mýrdalssandur before road 1 was made.

A shelter was built at Dýralækjasker in 1910 after two farmers, Þorsteinn Bjarnason and Jón Sigurðsson, lost their lives crossing the sand plain. The house came in handy for travellers crossing the sands in those days and was fitted out to serve as a rescue shelter for shipwrecked people after George Edward stranded in 1941. The sailors from the ship were able to reach Dýralækjasker but continued their way, as there was no heating equipment, and five of the crew died of exposure on the way.

The shelter is next to the river Dýralækur and is on the floodplain but survived the glacial outburst flood in 1918. It is believed that Dýralækjasker takes its name from the farm Dýralækir, which is supposed to have been in the area and was part of a larger farming community on the western part of Mýrdalssandur. 

Those farms were all destroyed by a flood from Katla, probably in the 13th or 14th century. Today, the shelter still stands, but closer to the main road there is a small site where you can stop and take in the breathtaking views.