Highlands of Iceland

城市概覽

This is probably the harshest, most "away from it all" place in all of Europe. In addition to being largely covered in glaciers, this area is also volcanically active. The biggest danger to the average visitor, however, is their vehicles running out of fuel. Plan accordingly. No shops or gas stations are in the area (there are some at the edge of the area). Accommodation in the area is mostly huts with cooking facilities, with a minority of them being motels with restaurants. Tourist information centres exist but they are few and far between. Of the land, 41% is barren, 10% is oases (often located near lakes), 3% is lakes, and the remaining 21% have varying amounts of flora. There are three glaciers in the region, covering 25%, including the largest glacier in Europe: Vatnajökull. The glaciers make it impossible to build an east–west road, and thus the main roads in the interior go from the south to north. The glaciers began to form 5,000 years ago and reached their current size 1,500 years ago. The whole area is 400–600 m (1,300–2,000 ft) above sea level. The region's main attraction is its remoteness and huge expanses of untouched scenery. Nights are colder here than elsewhere in the country, largely due to the elevation. The average temperature at night is 3 °C (37 °F) and the lowest temperature is −5 °C (23 °F). Daytime average is 10 °C (50 °F) with 20 °C (68 °F) being the highest temperature. The weather can change frequently, every 15 minutes, like is the case also elsewhere in the country. During the only available season in this region, summer, there is only a few hours of darkness. At average there is only 3 hours of darkness in June, 5 hours in July and 8 hours in August.

Freedom to roam

Everybody has the right to roam freely by foot. Bicycles should follow paths or roads and Jeeps are only allowed on marked roads. Tents should only be set up at designated campsites. Within some areas in Vatnajökull park camping is forbidden altogether, due to sensiti

如何抵達

The interior can be reached from the north or south. It is essential to start the journey from outside of the interior in order to get food, fuel and equipment. See the gear section for what gear is needed in this region. Shop at either Selfoss or Akureyri and then continue.

By bus The easiest, cheapest and safest way to venture into the interior is by BSI bus (special 4x4 buses with experienced drivers). Scheduled services are operated by Reykjavík Excursions and route 610a of SBA-Norðurleið crosses the interior through road 35.

By car As elsewhere in Iceland, roads that start with an "F" are overall in worse condition and more of a challenge than those that are just a number. Authorities will remove the F from the official designation of a road when it meets the (not terribly high) Icelandic standards for a "regular road". That said, even on normal roads, the Interior can be challenging and there is only very sparse population and service or civilisation may be days away in any direction. Good starting points are Akureyri in North Iceland and Selfoss in South Iceland. Both of those towns are connected to the Ring road. The interior has two important roads, F26 and road 35, known by the locals as Sprengisandur and Kjölur. Both of these roads cross the country, connecting South Iceland with North Iceland. The directions below will guide you to these roads. From Akureyri to Sprengisandur follow road 821 in a southern direction. The road then continues as F821. Turn right into F881 and left into F26. Next fuel stop in 242km, at Hrauneyjar. From Selfoss to Kjölur follow road 35 in a north-eastern direction. The road will pass by Geysir and the waterfall Gullfoss (in Upcountry Árnessýsla) before it enters the interior. Fill up at the gas station at Geysir before continuing. Next fuel stop in 204km, at Blönduós. From Selfoss to Sprengisandur follow road 1 in an eastern direction, then turn right into road 30, then left into road 32. The road number will change to R

當地交通

The area is explored via the main roads of the region, Sprengisandur road F26, Kjölur road 35 and Öskjuvegur Road 910. The interior is only partially interconnected with roads. You can get from Sprengisandur to Vatnajökull park and Landmannalaugar, but in order to get to Kjölur you need to go out of the region to the lowlands first. From Kjölur you can get to Kaldidalur on the other side of Langjökull glacier. A compass and a map is preferable to GPS. When using GPS, type in areas using coordinates, instead of names. Icelanders have a bad habit of naming several areas the same names. The magnetic declination is -9° (in the east) to -13° (in the west) as of 2023, but check current values as the magnetic pole is on the move.

By bus The easiest, cheapest and safest way to venture into the interior is by BSI bus. Road 35 is covered by Reykjavík Excursions and Sterna's route 610a.

By car

The easiest way of getting around independently is by car. Only 4WD cars are allowed in the interior. Contact the company from which you rent the vehicle and ask for a vehicle that can handle the terrain of the interior. All roads in the interior are closed in the winter and spring, but are open in the summer. Most roads are gravel roads or trails, with only some of them having bridges. Those roads are typically marked with an F prefix. A minority of roads are asphalt roads, those are normal roads without an F prefix, most of them are connecting roads from the lowlands to the interior. Attractions in the interior are situated within walking distances from the roads. Usually there are parking areas near the starting points.

Fording Before you cross any river by car, wade on foot over the river. Use knee high boots and a walking stick. For safety you can tie yourself to the front of the car. Rivers either have a gravel or rocky riverbed. Look for a smooth area to cross over. Look away from the current every couple of seconds in order to prevent dizziness. If you encounter a lot o

必看景點

While most visitors are amazed by the Arctic landscape, many Icelanders find it boring. Oases have fauna in the otherwise barren landscape. Pink footed geese, Meadow pipit and European golden plover can be seen here during the summer. Additionally there are several forms of rocks, including palagonite, rhyolite and lahar with rows of craters. NASA has been to this region several times, in preparation for the Apollo missions and for Mars training. Hawaii is the only other place on earth that has been used for this purpose.

Askja, in Vatnajökull National Park, is a volcano that collapsed in on itself after an eruption in 1875. Since then, water has accumulated in the crater, making a 220-metre deep pool of water. Herðubreið is a tuya, surrounded by a lava field, was not ascended until 1908. At a height of 1,700 m (5,600 ft) it is known as "the Queen of Icelandic Mountains". It is in Vatnajökull National Park. Hveravellir is a geothermal area with a 1.35-m-deep pool near Kjölur. 1 Lakagí