Highland explorer – arctictrail.is

Highlander explorer

Lava. lakes, volcanos, glaciers, powerful rivers....this one has it all!

The highland explorer tour is very close to our hearts and the atmosphere gives so much joy and memories to cherish. The view from the summit of Sveinstindur is like nothing else, on a good day you see big portion of the highlands and far into Vatnajökull glacier. The power of Skaftá river is magnificent and the volcanic landscape is characterized with craters, lava bridges, canyons and rock formations that some say that is the home to the elf's.

Tour Summary

Length: 7 days / 7 nights

Time: July & August

Distance: 80 KM / 2500 VM

Style: mountain huts, trekking.

Highlights

Sveinstindur
Langisjór
Glacier views
Volcanic landscapes
Geothermal pool
Eldgjá Canyon
Þórsmörk

Itenerary

Langisjór - Sveinstindur

We start the day by taking a bus to Langisjór where we start our journey in the highlands. At Langisjór we disembark and start hiking Sveinstindur mountain where incredible views await us, where we can see Langisjór, Vatnajökull and more. From there we hike down to the hut where we stay the night.

Distance: 6 km

Hiking hours: 4

Day 2

Sveinstindur - Skælingar

Our journey takes us along Skaftá river on mossy hills. We have to wade a small river before we head into Hvanngil and Uxatindagljúfur. The views on the way are something from adventurebooks. A small river runs along the incredible lava formations which surrounds the area where we find our cabin for the night at Skælingar. A magical day.

Distance: 14 Km

Hiking hours: 6

Day 3

Skælingar – Álftavatnakrókur

We begin with hiking to Eldgjá fissure, a place that has incredible views and amazing colors. As we walk through the canyon we‘re reminded how small we are compared to the powers of nature and as we get close to the other end of Eldgjá we find a Ófærufoss, a beautiful waterfall. After a short break we continue to Álftavatnskrókur where we stay for tonight.

Distance: 19

Hiking hours: 7

Day 4

Álftavatnakrókur – Strútsskáli

Today brings us long Syðri-Ófæra and along the hills of Svarthnúksfjöll. We continue towards Hólmsárbotnar until we get to Strútslaug where we can take a bath in a nature spring before we continue to our cabin.

Distance 15km

Hiking hours: 6

Day 5

Strútsskáli – Hvanngil

Our hike brings us west over Veðurháls. On our left we‘ll see Mýrdalsjökull, the glacier that hides the volcano Katla. We go through Hrútagil, Mataröldu and cover the sands of Mælifellssandur before we cross Kaldaklofskvíslar river. We reach our cabin for the night shortly after the river.

Distance: 25 km

Hiking hours: 8

Day 6

Hvanngil – EMSTRUR

Our day begins with going east towards Hvannagil where we wade a river named Brattahálskvísl. From Hvannagil we head to a bridge that takes us over Kaldaklofskvísl and just south of it is Bláfjallakvísl which we have to wade. From there we head towards Innri-Emstruá where we cross a bridge over the river. If the weather is dry but windy there‘s a chance of blowing sand. We go between Útigönguhöfðar south towards Botnsskáli in Emstrur.

Distance 15km.

Hiking hours: 7

Day 7

Emstrur – Þórsmörk

Our day starts with us going east as we have to go around Syðri-Emstrugljúfur, a canyon that almost reaches Entujökull. We go towards a bridge that crosses Syðri-Emstruá and follow Langháls until we reach the meeting point for Markarfljót and Syðri-Emstruá. From here we go south and we‘ll find two canyons named Slyppugil and Bjórgil. After we get out of Bjórgil we hike through land that is believed to have been a forest centuries ago.

More landscape changes await us as we get to Úthólmi south of Ljósá. There we find the last uphill part of the way called Kápa. Once over we find a river called Þröngá which we have to wade. Now the last part of our journey takes us through a forest of birch towards Skagfjörðsskáli. The last part of the hike is a nice change as we walk in a foresty area.

Distance: 25 km

Hiking hours: 7

Day 8

Departure back to Reykjavik by bus.