Best hikes, treks, tramps in the world.
The Yellowstone National Park of Iceland is near Lake Mývatn (lake of MIDGES) in the North, an area of active volcanism.
Like Yellowstone, this area could blow up any time.
There are a dozen great day hikes to choose from. You could link them together – I met a British couple doing this – or drive trailhead to trailhead, as I did.
A short walk from the Information Centre is Hverfjall.
This one last erupted 2500 years ago. Whew.
It’s an easy walk up and around the rim. Weather permitting.
trip report by site editor Rick McCharles
5km return
The Snaefellsnes Peninsula, close to Reykjavik, is a popular hiking destination.
Of many possible coastal walks, I chose the most popular, Hellnar to Arnarstapi.
It’s busy, but I still loved it. You can drop non-hikers in your group at the trailhead Coffee shop.
There are restaurants at either end of the trail, as well. Here’s pretty Arnarstapi.
The Visitor Centre is in Hellnar. I got good advice there.
This section of the coast is famed for “weather worn caves and sea arches“.
The vistas are gorgeous, for sure.
I nearly tripped over one of the supposedly rare Arctic Foxes. (That’s my 3rd in 4 days. How rare could they be?)
The fox was picking up an easy lunch. Dumber birds hatch eggs too close to the cliff top. I could have collected enough for an omelet, myself, without scrambling.
I’m happy with the photos from this day hike. See the rest on flickr. They are geotagged automatically by my new camera.
Plan B.
Since I could not get into Landmannalaugar, I opted for the next best thing.
Skaftafell National Park was a national park…
It’s now part of Vatnajökull National Park, the largest in Europe.
Skaftafell is renowned in Iceland for its agreeable climate and the sunny days in summer, uncommon in the south of Iceland. …
Three days, two nights.
One of the highlights of traveling Iceland is admiring their horses.
The Icelandic horse is a breed … developed in Iceland. Although the horses are small, at times pony-sized, most registries for the Icelandic refer to it as a horse. Icelandic horses are long-lived and hardy. In their native country they have few diseases; Icelandic law prevents horses from being imported into the country and exported animals are not allowed to return. …
The mane and tail are full, with coarse hair, and the tail is set low. … a double coat developed for extra insulation in cold temperatures. …
These days they are mainly kept as tourist rides.
This is a graphic representation of the hours of darkness in Reykjavík, Iceland.
The months are represented across the bottom (Jan = I, Dec = XII)
Now in June (VI) there are no hours of darkness. You could golf all night.
Many find it difficult to fall asleep during the night when the sun is shining. In general, visitors and newcomers are most affected. Some natives are also affected, but in general to a lesser degree….
Wikipedia – Midnight sun
I’ve hiked in Alaska, Yukon and Patagonia during long days, but it’s never been this bright at night.
Weird.
The most famous hike in Iceland opens June 15th. Or 17th. Or 20th. Or later.
It’s been a hard, cold Spring.
I had hoped to do the trek before the official opening, to avoid the hordes. That’s not going to happen.
Today I drove to the campground at Skogar, one of the trailheads. Two young German guys had just come out. There’s still a LOT of snow and mud. It’s not fun.
They convinced me not to go.
… so I’m looking for an alternative backcountry hike, perhaps 75km, over the next few days.
I fly out on the 17th.
Jules Verne’s Journey to the Centre of the Earth starts at Snaefellsnes volcano.
Earlier Icelandic sagas are set here, too.
Mystics and spiritualists oft list this as a ‘Power Place’ of sorts.
Another story tells of a slam poetry contest between a great Icelandic writer named Kolbeinn Jöklaskáld and the devil. The devil lost the duel and had to throw him self to the bottom of the sea near this spot (north of Hellnar).
I scrambled up and left a Summit Stone on the stark volcanic outcropping.
trip report by besthike editor Rick McCharles
The most popular hike in the Westfjords.
The cliffs of all cliffs, Látrabjarg, are home to birds in unfathomable numbers. This westernmost point of Iceland (and Europe if Greenland and the Azores are not counted) is really a line of several cliffs, 14 kilometres long and up to 441m high. And it’s as steep as it gets, dizzyingly so. Safe from foxes, the birds are fearless, and provide stunning photographic opportunities from close range. Bird photography for dummies, you might say. The puffins are particularly tame (VIDEO) …
Látrabjarg is thus deservedly the most visited tourist attraction in the Westfjords. The cliffs are easily accessible by car and when you’re there, a walk along the cliffs awaits. The whirling sensation will not fade, and neither will the memories.
Looking top down at a bird colony …
Somebody seemed to have collected some dud eggs for a photo op.
The shape of the egg makes it less likely to roll out of the nest.
It’s a bit of work getting to Látrabjarg. I drove most of these roads looking for Puffins.
See the rest of my birdy photos from this day hike
Note that they now are automatically geotagged with GPS data.
I twice saw the elusive Arctic Fox, the only land mammal native to Iceland.
An Arctic Fox Centre opened June 2010, a new tourist attraction.
They lived on birds, I assume. (Why are there not more rodents on this island? Ground squirrels or marmots would thrive here.)
It was a thrill like that of seeing the Patagonian Fox.
But if you like foxes, visit Charlottetown, PEI, Canada. They roam like house cats in that city.
by site editor Rick McCharles
My first hike in Iceland was a half hour loop up and over the town of Holmavik, pop. 420.
You know it for the famed Museum of Icelandic Sorcery and Witchcraft. But I went there to fuel up my rent-a-car before setting out for remote fjords.
A “best hike” in Iceland MUST finish at a Hot Spring.
I parked at the Swimming Complex trailhead …
… looped up to the highest viewpoint …
… and back down to the stern Church, an essential feature of all fishing villages, no matter how small.
Here’s the rural Icelandic equivalent of Starbucks. (They are not much for signage in this land.)
In the window was a Blundenhottie (Icelandic for Barista) waving me in. I would have missed the place otherwise.
The Hot Springs were wonderful.
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