Day 1: Þingvellir National
Park-Deildartunguhver Hot Spring- Barnafoss- Hraunfossar
Our day begins with a hike in Þingvellir National Park, the site of the
old parliament and a place of great historic importance. The birth place
of democracy in Iceland it is a symbol and an emblem of Democracy with a
capital “D”, the park is now a UNESCO World Heritage site. A
magnificent location: a beautiful lake skirted by a small canyon, a
fissure that is in fact part of the Mid-Atlantic Rift. A visit to
Deildartunguhver, the most powerful hot spring in Iceland, followed by
the waterfalls of Barnafoss and Hraunfossar, a row of waterfalls that
over a few hundred meters emerge from underneath a lava field. From
there we visit one of the numerous lava caves of the region. In winter
the caves are decorated with ice stalactites. We stay the night in a hut
in the area where a bath in the “hot pots” of a local swimming pool is
optional.
Hiking: 2-3 hrs. total divided into numerous shorter walks.
Day 2: Hveravellir
We set course for Hveravellir! Depending on weather and snow conditions,
we go north of Langjökull glacier either by route 1 and the mountain
road Kjölur (a road that crosses the island from north to south between
the glaciers Langjökull and Hofsjökull), or by crossing the lava fields
of Hallmundarhraun. Hveravellir is above all known for intense
geothermal activity, fumaroles, hot springs and colorful ponds filled
with boiling water. We visit the site’s famous hot springs before
putting on our snow shoes for a walk to the volcano Strýtur, and
majestic views of the icecaps of Langjökull and Hofsjökull. In the
evening we relax, soaking in the Hveravellir natural geothermal pool,
where on a clear night we might see the Aurora Borealis light up the
dark winter sky! Night in a mountain hut.
Hiking: 3hrs.
Day 3: Gullfoss-Geysir-Háifoss waterfall-
Þjórsárdalur –Hekla
From the plateau we descend towards Gullfoss (the powerful “Golden
waterfall”) where the turbulent waters of the river Hvítá plunge into a
fault (canyon). Then we head to Geysir, which gives his name to all
other spouting hot springs in the world! We come to the valley of
Þjórsárdalur, which borders the lava field created by the volcano Hekla.
We visit the grand waterfall of Háifoss where the water drops down a
122m high cliff, and the small valley Gjáin, before arriving at a hut
near Hekla one of the Iceland’s most active volcano. When the Danes
ruled the country they believed that its crater was a gateway to the
Nether world. The local farmers, clever as they were, told them it was
all true, and for that matter, one could hear Danish being spoken down
there. The last eruption goes back to… February 2000!
Hiking: 3-4 hrs total, numerous small walks interspersed with
transfer in vehicles.
Day 4: Landmannalaugar
We head south-west to Landmannalaugar. If weather and snow conditions
allow, we visit the immense crater of Ljótipollur before arriving at the
mountain hut in Landmannalaugar at the foot of a lava field from an
eruption in 1480. After a hike in snowshoes through this extraordinary
landscape, of colorful rhyolite mountains, a bath in the warm waters of
river that runs next to the hut is an ideal way to end our day.
Hiking: 3-4 hrs.
Day 5: Landmannalaugar-Tungná river- Hjálparfoss
waterfall-Reykjvík
We start the day by visiting the hot springs that lie at the foot of the
hill Reykjarkollur before retracing our steps from the day before in
our vehicles. We pass by the crater of Hnausapollar and come down into
the great valley of the river Tungná. There, in the past farmers used to
cross this vast river on boats with their sheep at the ford of Hófsvað.
On the road to Reykjavík we stop at the Hjálparfoss waterfall where one
stream splits into a twin waterfall that comes together in a circular
basin surrounded by twisted basalt columns that form beautiful
asymmetric wall. Arrival in Reykjavík in the late afternoon.
Hiking: 2 hrs.