Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The highlands
he
highlands
southwest of Egilsstaðir form a huge, wild and impressively bleak
expanse of moorland around the edges of the Vatnajökull ice cap. Overlooking
everything is the permanently snow-capped, sharply ridged peak of
Snæfell
which,
at 1833m, is the highest freestanding mountain in Iceland, formed from the eroded
core of a long-extinct stratovolcano. While climbing Snæfell needs experience
and equipment, you can approach the base on the way to the
Kárahnjúkar
hydro dam
, built to provide power for an aluminium smelter down on the coast
in Reyðarfjörður (see p.286). You'll also pass by Snæfell if you're hiking the
increasingly popular five-day route through Lónsöræfi (p.294). Either way, keep
eyes peeled for
reindeer
, geese and whooper swans, all of which breed and feed up
here in large numbers.
GETTING AROUND THE HIGHLANDS
7
By car
Route 910 provides a 60km surfaced road from
Lögurinn lake to Kárahnjúkar; in summer it's accessible to
conventional vehicles, though there is no bus service. If you've
got a four-wheel-drive, note that there are also several tracks
off Route 910 to Snæfell, Vatnajökull and beyond.
Maps
Mál og menning maps cover the region between
here and Lónsöræfi in two 1:100,000 sheets, which include
a 1:50,000 detail of the Snæfell area.
Snæfell
On clear days
Snæfell
looks stunning, the black-streaked flanks rising above
indescribably desolate moorland to a brilliant, snowy pyramidal tip; sadly, the
usual vista is of the lower slopes vanishing into cloud. There's a sealed road running
south off Route 910 which ends up at a viewpoint above the little
Kelduá reservoir
,
just 5km east of Snæfell; the white glow south from here is Vatnajökull, and the
15km-long valley in between is
Eyjabakkar
, annual nesting grounds for upwards
of three thousand pairs of pink-footed geese. Original plans to flood this valley for
hydro power caused such widespread protests from environmentalists that the site
was shifted to Kárahnjúkar.
The main road to Snæfell's base is the four-wheel-drive-only
F909
, which winds out
via several river crossings to the mountain's west side. Once there, a 30km hiking
track
circuits
Snæfell
, which is also at the start of the long hike
south to Lónsöræfi
(see box, p.294).
ACCOMMODATION
SNÆFELL
Snæfellsskáli
T
860 1393,
W
fi.is.
This timber-clad
hiking organization hut, right on Snæfell's western
foothills, sleeps 45 people in bunks, and has toilets, water
and showers, plus a warden for information. You c
an camp
here too
. Advan
ce booking essential. Bunks
4500kr
;
camping
1000kr
Kárahnjúkar
Kárahnjúkar
, a highland area on the headwaters of the Jökulsá á Dal at the northeastern
edge of the Vatnajökull ice cap, is the site of a 630-megawatts
hydroelectric dam
, which
has almost doubled Iceland's hydroelectric output since its completion in 2006. Route
910 terminates at the site after crossing the 200m-high
dam wall
across the dramatic
Dimmugljúfur
canyon. Dimmugljúfur itself forms a long, narrow, jagged tear in the
landscape, clearly caused by a single, violent earthquake: you have to ponder the
wisdom of building a dam on what is patently a highly unstable area. Park the car on
the far side for views south over a huge new lake,
Hálslón
, which extends 45km south
to Vatnajökull itself. Also note the dam's
spillway
; in late summer, melting ice around
FROM TOP
LÓNSÖRÆFI
P.293
; ARCTIC TERN AT JÖKULSÁRLÓN
P.296
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