Canyon in Iceland Made Famous by Justin Bieber Closed to Tourists

It's too late now for him to say sorry.

An Icelandic canyon featured in a 2015 Justin Bieber music video has been closed to tourists for a few months.

The Fjaðrárgljúfur canyon in southeast Iceland features picturesque scenery: a rocky expanse with lush green foliage overlooking crystal-clear water below. It is believed that the canyon was formed at the end of the last Ice Age — some 9,000 years ago, according to Visit South Iceland.

But officials say the old landmark has been ravaged by overwhelming foot traffic in recent years.

“This canyon was somewhat unknown,” Daníel Freyr Jónsson of the Environment Agency of Iceland told RUV. “But I think Icelanders have known about it a lot longer. The great increase in foot traffic began after Bieber came. There has been an increase of 50 percent to 80 percent between 2016, 2017 and 2018.”

Visitor numbers to the canyon increased from 150,000 to 282,000 between 2017 and 2018 since Bieber recorded his "I'll Show You" video.

The agency says that the increased foot traffic, combined with unfavorable weather conditions, has led to the damage of the pristine area. Visitors are avoiding muddy paths by walking on the surrounding vegetation. So officials closed the site to let Mother Nature repair herself.

The canyon was initially closed on Feb. 27 for two weeks. But officials later said the site needed more time to heal, so it the closure was extended until June 1.

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