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Perhaps 25 waterfalls and spectacular canyons in series.
I can’t recall better anywhere else in the world.
Trail starts at massive Skógafoss and continues 8km (5 miles). The views just as good on the way back.
I waited about 5 days for a good weather window. Hiked the Waterfall Way twice, up-and-down, over 3 days.
I wanted the trail as empty of people as possible. And to catch the sun low in the sky.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Trip report by BestHike editor Rick McCharles
When the construction of Kárahnjúkar Hydro Dam was finished 2009, Stuðlagil (Studlagil) Canyon became fully visible.
The water level in the river Jökla, that runs through the canyon, dropped and amazing basalt columns have since become one of the most popular tourist attractions in eastern Iceland.
Click PLAY or get a glimpse on YouTube.
The landowners were still building tourist infrastructure in 2024.
I stayed at the simple campground on the northern side of the river.
A German couple — world travellers — in a camper van, offered me lamb dinner with locally picked mushrooms. And wine! It was my best meal in Iceland. 😀
Once the tourists were gone in the evening, I climbed down a long set of stairs to have the northern viewing platform all to myself.
Next morning, I cycled over to the southern side of the river. It’s the better experience. Go to both sides, if you can.
Stuðlagil (Studlagil) is a canyon in the Eastern Region of Iceland.
It is known for its unusual amount of large columnar basalt rock formations and the turquoise coloured river that runs through it.
The canyon also has an interesting story as it became an unexpected tourist sensation in 2016 after Einar Páll Svavarsson published an article in August of that year on hiticeland.com with spectacular photos.
A year later Einar also wrote an article about Stuðlagil in WOW air magazine in June 2017 and after that the canyon became a popular tourist destination.
It’s an easy detour off the Highway 1 Ring Road. About a 19km/11.8mi sidetrip along road 923. Mostly paved in 2024.
related – All you need to know before visiting Stuðlagil Canyon
official website – studlagil.is
Tongariro Northern Circuit is one of our top 10 hikes in the world.
Click PLAY or watch a 1 minute introduction on YouTube.
Our favourite multi-day tramp in our favourite hiking region of the world — glorious New Zealand.
AND our top volcano hike worldwide.
by Jeff Pang
Read more on our Tongariro Northern Circuit information page.
Planning my own visit to the remote Faroe Islands, I watched Ryan Shirley’s video most.
You need your own motor vehicle and quite a few days to duplicate what Ryan did. Often you want to wait on the weather to see highlights.
Ferries are sometimes cancelled due to wind.
The capital and largest city, Tórshavn, receives the fewest recorded hours of sunshine of any city in the world.
There are about 500km of roads to navigate, though you wouldn’t normally need a 4 wheel drive for most.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
July 28, 2024.
I have 11 days to explore the 18 rocky, volcanic islands between Iceland and Norway.
I arrived by Smyril ferry from Denmark. 31 hours.
Click PLAY or watch a preview on YouTube.
Mount Rinjani (Indonesian: Gunung Rinjani, Sasak: Gunong Rinjani) is an active volcano in Indonesia on the island of Lombok.
It rises to 3,726 metres (12,224 ft).
Adjacent to the volcano is a 6-by-8.5-kilometre (3.7 by 5.3 mi) caldera, which is filled partially by the crater lake known as Segara Anak or Anak Laut (Child of the Sea), due to the color of its water.
I’m very keen to climb it myself, perhaps with India Hikes.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
My latest experiment in video editing is software called Audio Sound Design.
Not inexpensive, but I did get 50% off a perpetual license during Black Friday.
Audio Design Desk comes with 70,000+ royalty free sounds, loops and music cues.
Adding them to your video is a breeze. All audio in this short edit of stock video was added with the software.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
I’m happy my edit shows the MAGIC and CHALLENGES of Iceland’s best volcanic hike in just 4 minutes.
I did it twice in September.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
A few hours after I posted that video, one of my favourite hiking vloggers — Harmen Hoek — posted his own.
He was there a few weeks before me. In August.
Harmen hiked in the opposite direction. And added the spectacular Fimmvörðuháls hike.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Trip report by BestHike editor Rick McCharles
Shortly after packing up the tent Sept. 16th, the rain began. 💧
I put away the camera and took not one photo nor video for the entire day.
It was head down. One foot after the other for about 34 tough kms.
I was only able to get shelter from constant rain and high winds for late lunch at Emstrur / Botnar. It was still open as the American guided group was there that night — and provided a cook tent.
Hiking Laugevagur leaves you almost entirely unprotected from the elements. There is no place to hide.
I’d seen the monument to Ido Keinan who died, lost 1 kilometre away from the hut in Hrafntinnusker. Exposure during a late June storm.
I used the free Maps.me app offline to confirm I was on the trail. This works in the dark or the middle of dense cloud.
… After about 11 hours with very few breaks, I made it to Langidalur hut in Þórsmörk.
In fact, I HAD to keep walking all day to stay warm!
I marched past, trying to cross the river to Basar campsite, closest to the start of next day’s Fimmvörðuháls hike. I’d heard the hut had been closed most of the summer, but that the campground was open.
The wardens were having dinner. Called me over. And explained that they’d taken out the bridges due to the continuous rain. The river was impassable.
I had a choice to be a wet rat in a wet tent for the night. Or check in to the hut at a cost of about $90.
Another fun guided group convinced me to join them inside. Gave me $5 hot shower tokens. And offered me dinner and wine. It was perhaps the best $90 I ever spent.
I was still hopeful the rain would break and I’d somehow be able to cross the river. And continue to the coast.
BUT the wardens and tour group offered me a chance to get a lift with them back to Reykjavik. I couldn’t say no.
Morning did arrive with better weather.
We did some day hiking.
Þórsmörk (Thorsmork – the Valley of Thor) is an area where trees are protected. And there are some surprisingly large trees.
Our bus did get stuck crossing the river for rendezvous. But the wardens have a tractor for flattening the river bed and even towing the bus, if needed.
The driver did not look worried. This is situation normal for him.
I enjoyed the ride back to Reykjavik with the tour group. Weather mixed, but improving.
Overall I was thrilled with the hike. Happy to have done the YOYO. Happy to have had only one day of bad weather in September.
This was a win.
Check our Laugevagur Trail information page for how to organize this adventure for yourself.
Trip report by BestHike editor Rick McCharles
Wow. Weather continues to be fantastic for September.
My PLAN was to leave the tent behind. Hike to the hot springs at Landmannalaugar and YOYO back before dark.
For me it was 5 hours to Landmannalaugar. 1 hour lunch and hot springs. 6 hours back.
Around 40 tough kms.
I left in the dark.
It did turn out to be one of the greatest days hiking of my life.
I’ll let the photos explain. 😀
I had 9 hours with vistas like this.
It’s a gorgeous area of the world. Part snow and ice. Part volcanic landscape.
There is real risk of stepping into boiling mud accidentally.
All sorts of weird snow caves and tunnels.
Of the plants here, I liked cottongrass best.
It’s in this high section in a snow storm where people might most easily lose the trail. Therefore it’s better marked with cairns and posts than anywhere else on the trail.
I had lunch at Hrafntinnusker. Met a fun American guided group who I would bump into several more times over the next 2 days.
As you approach the end, there’s more and more volcanic activity.
Landmannalaugar came into sight. My half way point for the day.
In August, the hot springs at Landmannalaugar are typically crowded.
But in mid-September there were only a few people enjoying a huge pool.
It’s hot. You can easily get scalded so positioning yourself carefully is critical. This was my best spot.
I had lunch. Then started back the way I had come. STILL confident I could get to my tent before dark. 😀
The return trip was equally good. But different in that you are facing the opposite direction with much different light.
Happily, no rain the rest of the day.
There’s the lake. One more descent and I’ll make it.
Unfortunately, It WAS dark before I got home. Days are already getting short in Iceland in September.
Even with a good headlamp it was easy to lose the trail. I had to rely on the GPS via Maps.me in order not to get lost.
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