Fjadrargljufur Just Banned Tourists From Visiting

Is it too late now to say sorry?

Fjadrargljufur Just Banned Tourists From Visiting

Arguably one of the most breathtaking locations in the world is Fjadrargljufur canyon located in the south east of Iceland. Want to go see it? Too bad – the park rangers have just banned all tourists from seeing it and it’s Justin Bieber‘s fault.

 

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The lush green vertical mountains that stand at 100m tall snake for 2 kilometres and was featured in Justin Bieber’s music video, I’ll Show You. Since then hoards of Beliebers have been making the pilgrimage to the location to follow in the cult leader’s pop star’s footsteps.

The issue, according to local ranger Hanna Johannsdottir, is that the narrow gravel road and vulnerable landscape can no longer sustain the intense influx of visitors. For the moment, Iceland’s priority is to protect their volcanic landscape where soil can form slowly and erode quickly. For this reason, Johannsdottir’s team had to erect fences and signs to deter visitors. Even on her watch Johannsdottir says that she’s had tourists offering her bribes in exchange for the ultimate selfie.

 

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“Food from people’s home country is the most common bribery,” says Johannsdottir. Her most recent bribe however was a free trip to Dubai. She declined the offer.

Beiber’s music video has been viewed by more than 440 million times on YouTube since 2015. Environment Minister Gudmundur Ingi Gudbrandsson was reluctant to put all the blame on Bieber though and said that all famous or influential visitors should consider the consequences of exposing such a delicate environment to their followers.

“In Justin Bieber’s defence, the canyon did not, at the time he visited, have rope fences and designated paths to show what was allowed and what not,” Gudbrandsson said. “Rash behaviour by one famous person can dramatically impact an entire area if the mass follows,” he added.

In other words, street’s closed pizza boy – take your map and backpack elsewhere.

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