The Shetland Times Plenty to marvel at in Iceland...Icelandic Volcano Trek, prices start at £975....
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The Shetland Times, Friday, 30th December, 2005 9 IT WAS the repeated sightings of the Norröna calling in to Lerwick on her way northwards to mysterious and unvisited lands that finally galvanised me into action. Iceland had been on my list of countries to visit for years but the thought of touring the island’s ring-road in a car – the easiest and most popular way of exploring the country – didn’t really grab. A quick surf of the internet soon came up with what turned out to be the ideal solution: an organised trek with tour company Explore through the Icelandic highlands followed by a few days of sight-seeing in Reykjavik. The gigantic wide-open spaces of the southern highlands are widely thought to offer the most dramatic trekking opportunities in the country. It takes around a week to com- plete the 50-mile hiking trail from the Landmannalaugar geothermal area in the desolate interior of the country to the lush forested valley of the Thórsmörk National Park and on to Iceland’s rugged south- west coast. Known as the Laugarvegurinn (Hot Spring Road), the route through this geological wonder- land skirts around Mount Hekla, Iceland’s most active volcano, blue mountain lakes and, of cour- se, countless bubbling hot springs. Hot water, with temperatures of up to 72°C mixes with cold meltwater from the glaciers to form natural hot pots. After a day’s Iceland by Paul Harding and Joe Bindloss. Fifth edition published by Lonely Planet at £12.99. Lonely Planet’s most recent edition of its guide to Iceland is a handy little volume for anyone planning a trip. At 328 pages, Lonely Planet’s offering is slightly more concise than the Rough Guide guidebook but should provide all the information you need to get the most your from your trip. If you prefer the compre- hensive approach, the Rough Guide to Iceland – now in its second edition and priced at £11.99 – also deserves con- sideration but the Lonely Pla- net guide is more user-friendly. If you want to know where to see the the most dramatic geysers and waterfalls or the best areas for hiking, it is all in there along with tips on hotels, restaurants and cafés. Attractively set out, well- illustrated and with a decent selection of maps, the guide also has an interesting sections on the country’s history, culture and environment. The guide also has a useful section on the Landmannal- augar to Thórsmörk trek which it predicts “will someday join the Milford Track and the Inca Trail as one of the great walks of the world”. @ @ @ Plenty to marvel at in Iceland . . . The modernist Hallgrimskirkja, built entirely of concrete, dominates the Reykjavik skyline. From the viewing platform at the top of the 75-metre steeple, there are panoramic views of the Icelandic capital, the highlands and the sea. Photo: Mark Latham A solitary trekker approaching a stream in the Landmannalaugar geothermal area, at the start of the hike. Photo: Courtesy of Arctic Images/Iceland Tourist Board Steam rises over the warm, milky-blue water of the Blue Lagoon just outside Reykjavik. Just the place to soak tired limbs after a trek through the Icelandic highlands. Photo: Blue Lagoon A map showing the route of the Iceland Volcano Trek. Iceland is only a ferry journey away and is fast becoming one of the world’s most popular trekking destinations. On a hike this summer Mark Latham found plenty of things to marvel at in the landscapes of Iceland’s southern highlands . . . strenuous hiking, all you have to do is find a place where the temperature suits, lower yourself in and relax. Passing through a bizarre al- most extraterrestrial landscape of black lava fields, mustard-yel- low rhyolite mountains, canyons, craters, sulphur-belching steam vents, solfataras and fumaroles the trek reaches its highpoint on the last day as the route passes between two of Iceland’s largest glaciers – Myrdalsjökull and Eyjafjallajökull – before coming to an end at the foot of the thundering Skógarfoss, one of Iceland’s largest waterfalls. The last day of the trail also includes the most dramatic views. From the top of the Fimmvör- ðuháls Pass, 1100 metres above sea level, the Westman Islands and the tiny volcanic island of Surtsey, created by a subsea eruption in 1963, should be visible on a clear day. With the necessary equipment and experience on ice some glacier walking could also be included in the trip. It’s just about possible to complete the whole trek without using the services of a trekking company but you’d need a large rucksack. Unlike huts in the Alps, moun- tain huts in Iceland are entirely self-catering so be prepared to carry a heavy load of provisions, a sleeping-bag as well as the rest of your trekking gear if heading out on your own. On an organised trek, such as those organised by package holi- day company Explore, all meals are provided, leaving you free to carry a light day rucksack. The rest of your kit is transported during the day by four-wheel drive truck from one campsite or mountain hut to the next. Apart from the lack of meals, mountain huts in Iceland are as good if not better than huts in other parts of Europe offering comfort- able and clean bunk accommoda- tion at reasonable prices. Another difference with the Alps is that there are few bridges over mountain streams and rivers, all of which have to be forded. The trail involves daily river crossings and, unless you like wading through foot-numbing glacial meltwater first thing in the morning, it’s a good idea to get hold of some neoprene surf boots before you go. Most of the trekking companies organise transport to and from Reykjavik at the beginning and end of the trip. Home to more than half of Iceland’s 290,000 population, Reykjavik boasts some fine museums and a surprisingly large number of stylish cafés and restaurants. Visits to the Asmundur Sveins- son sculpture museum and the recently-renovated National Mus- eum are particularly recommen- ded. Other sights include the Culture House, the futuristic Hallgrim- skirkja and the nearby statue of Leifur Eiriksson, who discovered America. By day the city feels as sophis- ticated as Copenhagen or Paris but at the weekend Reykjavik’s hedonistic nightlife takes over. As the notoriously uninhibited Runtur pub crawl gets into full swing you could equally well be in Newcastle’s Bigg Market. It’s a curious cultural mixture. One of the most popular tourist outings from Reykjavik is a day- trip to the geyser Strokkur, which spouts a column of steaming water 35 metres high every five minutes or so. Nearby is the original hot blow- hole Geysir which gave its name to other similar waterspouts around the world. It regularly spouted water 80 metres into the sky until a shift in the geological seams in the 1960s caused it to shut down. Since then it has only erupted fitfully, most recently during a series of small earthquakes in 2000. The place is crammed with photo-snapping tourists on coach tours and after a week in the remote wilderness of Iceland’s uninhabited interior it takes a bit of getting used to. The trip is often combined with a visit to the magnificent Gullfoss waterfall, second only in size to Dettifoss in north-east Iceland, and the Thingvellir National Park. As well as being the site of the Althing, the world’s oldest parlia- ment, the dramatic rift valley at Thingvellir is where the European and North American continental plates meet. Alternatively whale-watching excursions in the bay between Reykjavik and Keflavik come with virtual guarantees that orca, sperm, minke and killer whales will be spotted. If you didn’t fit in a dip in a hot spring during the trek, Reykjavik is a good place to make up for it. The city itself has around half a dozen swimming pools heated entirely by subterranean thermal water and all of them offer a variety of hot pots at different temperatures. If you want the full works, the Blue Lagoon geothermal spa just outside Reykjavik is Iceland’s largest tourist attraction and – despite the queues – well worth a visit. Fed by naturally hot water from the outflow of a nearby thermal power station, it is the mixture of white silica mud, blue-green algae and mineral-rich seawater that gives the lagoon its strange aqua- marine colour. The lagoon sits in an almost surreal lunar landscape of black lava and it comes as no surprise to learn that the Apollo astronauts did some of the training for their moon landings nearby. There couldn’t be a better place to unwind at the end of a trip to Iceland. Useful internet sites: • UK-based Explore travel company organises week-long summer trekking trips though the Icelandic highlands. Marketed as the Icelandic Volcano Trek, prices start at £975. Details available from: www.explore.co.uk. • The Iceland Tourist Board has a useful website at www.icetourist.is with links to places around the country. • The Reykjavik Tourist Office has a well-designed website at www.visitreykjavik.is. Accommodation in Iceland is not cheap and it’s worth looking for a bargain on this site before you go. There is also an unofficial tourist guide to Reykjavik at: www.explore- reykjavik.com. • For information about glacier hikes and mountaineering courses visit the Iceland Mountain Guides’ website at: www.mountainguide.is. • Ferðafélag Islands is the organisation which manages the network of Iceland’s trekking huts. Its website, www.fi.is, includes information about the huts as well a number of organised hikes. • Smyril Line provides weekly sailings from Lerwick to Seyðisfjördur in eastern Iceland from March to the end of September: www.smyril-line.com. Iceland’s domestic airline Flugfélag Islands (www.airiceland.is) flys several times a day from Egilsstaðir to Reykjavik.
Transcript of The Shetland Times Plenty to marvel at in Iceland...Icelandic Volcano Trek, prices start at £975....
The Shetland Times, Friday, 30th December, 2005 9
IT WAS the repeated sightings of the Norröna calling in toLerwick on her way northwards tomysterious and unvisited landsthat finally galvanised me intoaction.
Iceland had been on my list of countries to visit for years but the thought of touring theisland’s ring-road in a car – theeasiest and most popular way ofexploring the country – didn’treally grab.
A quick surf of the internetsoon came up with what turned outto be the ideal solution: anorganised trek with tour companyExplore through the Icelandichighlands followed by a few daysof sight-seeing in Reykjavik.
The gigantic wide-open spacesof the southern highlands arewidely thought to offer the mostdramatic trekking opportunities inthe country.
It takes around a week to com-plete the 50-mile hiking trail fromthe Landmannalaugar geothermalarea in the desolate interior of thecountry to the lush forested valleyof the Thórsmörk National Parkand on to Iceland’s rugged south-west coast.
Known as the Laugarvegurinn(Hot Spring Road), the routethrough this geological wonder-land skirts around Mount Hekla,Iceland’s most active volcano,blue mountain lakes and, of cour-se, countless bubbling hot springs.
Hot water, with temperatures of up to 72°C mixes with coldmeltwater from the glaciers toform natural hot pots. After a day’s
Iceland by Paul Harding and Joe Bindloss. Fifthedition published byLonely Planet at £12.99.
Lonely Planet’s most recentedition of its guide to Icelandis a handy little volume foranyone planning a trip.
At 328 pages, LonelyPlanet’s offering is slightlymore concise than the RoughGuide guidebook but shouldprovide all the information youneed to get the most your fromyour trip.
If you prefer the compre-hensive approach, the RoughGuide to Iceland – now in itssecond edition and priced at£11.99 – also deserves con-sideration but the Lonely Pla-net guide is more user-friendly.
If you want to know whereto see the the most dramaticgeysers and waterfalls or thebest areas for hiking, it is all inthere along with tips on hotels,restaurants and cafés.
Attractively set out, well-
illustrated and with a decentselection of maps, the guidealso has an interesting sectionson the country’s history,culture and environment.
The guide also has a usefulsection on the Landmannal-augar to Thórsmörk trek whichit predicts “will someday jointhe Milford Track and the IncaTrail as one of the great walksof the world”.
@ @ @
Plenty to marvel at in Iceland . . .
The modernist Hallgrimskirkja, built entirely of concrete,dominates the Reykjavik skyline. From the viewing platformat the top of the 75-metre steeple, there are panoramic viewsof the Icelandic capital, the highlands and the sea.
Photo: Mark Latham
A solitary trekker approaching a stream in the Landmannalaugar geothermal area, at thestart of the hike. Photo: Courtesy of Arctic Images/Iceland Tourist Board
Steam rises over the warm, milky-blue water of the Blue Lagoon just outside Reykjavik. Justthe place to soak tired limbs after a trek through the Icelandic highlands. Photo: Blue Lagoon
A map showing the route of the Iceland Volcano Trek.
Iceland is only a ferry journey away and is fast becoming one of theworld’s most popular trekking destinations. On a hike this summerMark Latham found plenty of things to marvel at in the landscapes ofIceland’s southern highlands . . .
strenuous hiking, all you have todo is find a place where thetemperature suits, lower yourselfin and relax.
Passing through a bizarre al-most extraterrestrial landscape of black lava fields, mustard-yel-low rhyolite mountains, canyons,craters, sulphur-belching steamvents, solfataras and fumaroles thetrek reaches its highpoint on thelast day as the route passes
between two of Iceland’s largestglaciers – Myrdalsjökull andEyjafjallajökull – before comingto an end at the foot of thethundering Skógarfoss, one ofIceland’s largest waterfalls.
The last day of the trail alsoincludes the most dramatic views.From the top of the Fimmvör-ðuháls Pass, 1100 metres abovesea level, the Westman Islands andthe tiny volcanic island of Surtsey,created by a subsea eruption in1963, should be visible on a clearday.
With the necessary equipmentand experience on ice some glacierwalking could also be included inthe trip.
It’s just about possible tocomplete the whole trek withoutusing the services of a trekkingcompany but you’d need a largerucksack.
Unlike huts in the Alps, moun-tain huts in Iceland are entirelyself-catering so be prepared tocarry a heavy load of provisions, a
sleeping-bag as well as the rest ofyour trekking gear if heading outon your own.
On an organised trek, such asthose organised by package holi-day company Explore, all mealsare provided, leaving you free tocarry a light day rucksack. The restof your kit is transported duringthe day by four-wheel drive truckfrom one campsite or mountainhut to the next.
Apart from the lack of meals,mountain huts in Iceland are asgood if not better than huts in otherparts of Europe offering comfort-able and clean bunk accommoda-tion at reasonable prices.
Another difference with theAlps is that there are few bridgesover mountain streams and rivers,all of which have to be forded.
The trail involves daily rivercrossings and, unless you likewading through foot-numbingglacial meltwater first thing in themorning, it’s a good idea to gethold of some neoprene surf bootsbefore you go.
Most of the trekking companiesorganise transport to and fromReykjavik at the beginning andend of the trip.
Home to more than half of Iceland’s 290,000 population,Reykjavik boasts some finemuseums and a surprisingly largenumber of stylish cafés andrestaurants.
Visits to the Asmundur Sveins-son sculpture museum and therecently-renovated National Mus-eum are particularly recommen-ded.
Other sights include the CultureHouse, the futuristic Hallgrim-skirkja and the nearby statue ofLeifur Eiriksson, who discoveredAmerica.
By day the city feels as sophis-ticated as Copenhagen or Paris but at the weekend Reykjavik’shedonistic nightlife takes over.
As the notoriously uninhibitedRuntur pub crawl gets into fullswing you could equally well be inNewcastle’s Bigg Market. It’s acurious cultural mixture.
One of the most popular touristoutings from Reykjavik is a day-
trip to the geyser Strokkur, whichspouts a column of steaming water35 metres high every five minutesor so.
Nearby is the original hot blow-hole Geysir which gave its name toother similar waterspouts aroundthe world.
It regularly spouted water 80metres into the sky until a shift inthe geological seams in the 1960scaused it to shut down. Since thenit has only erupted fitfully, mostrecently during a series of smallearthquakes in 2000.
The place is crammed withphoto-snapping tourists on coachtours and after a week in theremote wilderness of Iceland’suninhabited interior it takes a bit ofgetting used to.
The trip is often combined witha visit to the magnificent Gullfosswaterfall, second only in size to Dettifoss in north-east Iceland,and the Thingvellir National Park.
As well as being the site of theAlthing, the world’s oldest parlia-ment, the dramatic rift valley atThingvellir is where the Europeanand North American continentalplates meet.
Alternatively whale-watchingexcursions in the bay between
Reykjavik and Keflavik come withvirtual guarantees that orca, sperm,minke and killer whales will bespotted.
If you didn’t fit in a dip in a hotspring during the trek, Reykjavikis a good place to make up for it.The city itself has around half adozen swimming pools heatedentirely by subterranean thermalwater and all of them offer avariety of hot pots at differenttemperatures.
If you want the full works, theBlue Lagoon geothermal spa justoutside Reykjavik is Iceland’slargest tourist attraction and –despite the queues – well worth avisit.
Fed by naturally hot water fromthe outflow of a nearby thermalpower station, it is the mixture ofwhite silica mud, blue-green algaeand mineral-rich seawater thatgives the lagoon its strange aqua-marine colour.
The lagoon sits in an almostsurreal lunar landscape of blacklava and it comes as no surprise tolearn that the Apollo astronauts didsome of the training for their moonlandings nearby. There couldn’t bea better place to unwind at the endof a trip to Iceland.
Useful internet sites:• UK-based Explore travel company organises week-long summer trekking trips though the Icelandic highlands. Marketed as the
Icelandic Volcano Trek, prices start at £975. Details available from: www.explore.co.uk.• The Iceland Tourist Board has a useful website at www.icetourist.is with links to places around the country.• The Reykjavik Tourist Office has a well-designed website at www.visitreykjavik.is. Accommodation in Iceland is not cheap
and it’s worth looking for a bargain on this site before you go. There is also an unofficial tourist guide to Reykjavik at: www.explore-reykjavik.com.
• For information about glacier hikes and mountaineering courses visit the Iceland Mountain Guides’ website at: www.mountainguide.is.• Ferðafélag Islands is the organisation which manages the network of Iceland’s trekking huts. Its website, www.fi.is, includes
information about the huts as well a number of organised hikes.• Smyril Line provides weekly sailings from Lerwick to Seyðisfjördur in eastern Iceland from March to the end of September:
www.smyril-line.com. Iceland’s domestic airline Flugfélag Islands (www.airiceland.is) flys several times a day from Egilsstaðir to Reykjavik.
