Iceland Mountain Highlights

REYKJAVÍK-GULLFOSS-GEYSIR-SKAFTAFELL-WALKING IN SKAFTAFELL-SKAFTAFELL-FLJÓTSDALSHÉRAÐ-WALKING THROUGH VIKING TRAILS-FLJÓTSDALSHÉRAÐ-HIGHLAND DESERT-MÝVATN AREA-WALKING IN HLJÓÐAKLETTAR-DETTIFOSS- ÁSBYRGI-LAKE MÝVATN AREA-HELLA-WALKING IN LANDMANNALAUGAR-ÞINGVELLIR-REYKJAVÍK

WALKING, TOURING AND WHALE WATCHING

The world at your feet, with an average of three hours walking a day in some of the most beautiful parts of Iceland. Highlights include visiting three National Parks Þingvellir, Skaftafell and Jökulsárgljúfur, the wonders of Landmannalaugar and Lake Mývatn, for its latitude the most fertile area in the world. There are waterfalls including the awesome Dettifoss, the most powerful in Europe. The tour includes, weather permitting, a 3 hour whale watching cruise sailing from Húsavík. Lots to see but little to carry, as the tour bus will convey your luggage. Accommodation is provided in hotels with private facilities. The hotels used on tours are often “summer hotels” used most of the year as boarding schools or country hotels which are simple and clean.

DAY 1 REYKJAVÍK-GULLFOSS-GEYSIR-SKAFTAFELL
The day starts with a drive to the famous Geysir and the Queen of Iceland´s waterfalls, Gullfoss. We then travel through the sandy desert of the south coast which is overlooked by mountainous cliffs and magnificent waterfalls. We stay for the next two nights near Skaftafell National Park.

DAY 2 WALKING IN SKAFTAFELL
The whole day is spent walking through the Skaftafell National Park.

DAY 3 SKAFTAFELL-FLJÓTSDALSHÉRAÐ
We drive south of Vatnajökull, Europe´s largest glacier which dominates the landscape with its glacial tongues calving into a glacial lagoon. Next, amongst the icebergs, enjoy a boat trip on the Jökulsárlón lagoon. We then continue through the beautiful Eastern fjords. We spend the next two nights in the neighbourhood of Egilsstaðir.

DAY 4 WALKING THROUGH VIKING TRAILS
A full day walking in the beautiful Eastern mountains.

DAY 5 FLJÓTSDALSHÉRAÐ-HIGHLAND DESERT-MÝVATN AREA
Today we walk up to Hengifoss, one of the highest waterfalls in Iceland. In the very remote area in the highlands of Iceland we visit Sænautasel, an old farm that was the main model for the setting of the novel: Independent People by Nobel Prize Winner Halldór Kiljan Laxness. We continue to Möðrudalur, a farm that has been inhabited from early settlement in Iceland and to this day, and has also served as a church site for centuries. We travel through desert landscape before reaching our accommodation for the next three nights in the Mývatn area.

DAY 6 HÚSAVIK WHALE WATCHING - LAKE MÝVATN AREA
We start the day, with a 3 hour whale watching cruise, weather permitting, from the picturesque village of Húsavík. A short drive to Lake Mývatn, a unique area that features strange lava formations, attractive bays, pseudo craters and prolific bird life. We stroll through the lava field of Dimmuborgir, ending with a walk to the rim of the ash crater Hverfjall. We relax in Mývatns Nature Baths, before we head back to our accommodation.

DAY 7 WALKING IN HLJÓÐAKLETTAR-DETTIFOSS- ÁSBYRGI
We visit Hljóðaklettar with its strange formations and the magnificent and puzzling canyon Ásbyrgi, said to be a hoof print of the eight legged horse of the ancient God Óðinn. We walk along the west bank of the mighty Jökulsá river, not far upstream we see Europe´s most powerful waterfall Dettifoss.

DAY 8 LAKE MÝVATN AREA-HELLA
We visit Goðafoss and Aldeyjarfoss on our way south across the highland desert of Sprengisandur, with its views of the distant ice-caps Vatnajökull and Hofsjökull. We continue south through Sprengisandur to our accommodation for the next two nights in Rangárvallasýsla.

DAY 9 WALKING IN LANDMANNALAUGAR
The entire day is spent walking in the geothermal area of Landmannalaugar, a jewel in the Icelandic landscapes. The surroundings rhyolite mountains have the feel of another planet, ranging in colours from beige to red and from blue to black. We will have the opportunity to enjoy a bath in a pool of warm spring water.

DAY 10 ÞINGVELLIR-REYKJAVÍK
Today we visit the historic sites of the first Icelandic Parliament at Þingvellir National Park where we enjoy the last walks of our tour before