Cape Hjorleifshofdi / Yoda Cave
What is it about this location in Iceland that causes Star Wars fans to take this side trip? A cool cave shaped like Yoda and the filming location for the opening scenes for Rogue One, that’s what!
One of the things I love about driving around Iceland is the chance of finding something cool by following a point of interest sign just to see what it leads to. In this case we were driving down highway 1 about 15 miles from Vik when we found this sign on the side of the road and a long dirt road traveling down along a large cape (Cape Hjorleifshofdi). So we decided to check it out!
Alaskan Lupine is NOT Iceland’s national flower
As soon as we pulled off the road we stopped to get some pictures of our daughters in the Alaskan Lupine. That is right, this beautiful flower that is all over Iceland is not native to Iceland. It is an invasive species. By the way, the national flower of Iceland is the Holtasoley.
Cape Hjorleifshofdi looks otherworldly
We drove along the edge of the Hjorleifshofdi cape. The road is marked with yellow markers and continues on the gravel plain that goes on as far as the eye can see.
The signs are clear, only 4X4s are allowed. Our Toyota Hilux from Blue Car Rental fit the bill nicely.
Yoda Cave and Rogue One
In about 10 minutes we came to the entrance of a cave that some call Yoda cave. This is due to its shape (It looks like a big Yoda). Yoda cave has another Star Wars connection. It was used in the opening scene of Star Wars: Rogue One (the scene where Jyn Erso hides at the beginning of the film).
The picture above is one we took in inside Yoda cave. Compare it to a screenshot from the beginning of Rogue One from a similar angle.
Finally a scene from Rogue One where you can see the landscape of cape Hjorleifshofdi from a distance.
Summary
We had a great time exploring cape Hjorleifshofdi and there is so much more to see. You can hike on top of the cape, see ruins of a farm and a grave site as well. There is a lot of history in the area that you can read about here. If you do go to Iceland, take the time to see the things along the side of the road when traveling. Especially ones not on the top 10 must see list. You never know what you might find!
If you enjoyed this article on Iceland feel free to check out our article on the Lava Center of Iceland or this one on the Whales of Iceland Experience.
