Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
to come from the Laxá in northeast Iceland, and the
Rangá in the south. During the winter, people cut
holes in the ice and fish for
arctic char
; the best
spots for this are at Þingvallavatn and Mývatn (see
p.103 & p.249).
You always need a
permit
to fish. Those for char
or trout are fairly cheap and easy to obtain on the
spot from local tourist o
ces and some accommo-
dation, but permits for salmon are extremely
expensive and often need to be reserved a year in
advance, as there is a limit per river. For further
information, contact the
Federation of Icelandic
River Owners
(
W
angling.is), whose website has a
huge amount of English-language information
about trout and salmon fishing in Iceland.
HAZARDS
Awareness of Iceland's
natural hazards
- including the weather and geology - is
taken very much for granted; don't expect
to find warning signs, safety barriers or
guide ropes at even patently dangerous
locations on the edge of waterfalls,
volcanoes or boiling mud pits. Always
exercise
caution
, especially at heavily
touristed locations - where you'll often
see locals (and uninformed tourists)
taking insane risks.
various Icelandic hiking organizations (see p.40).
Many activities can be undertaken as part of an
organized tour, sometimes with the necessary gear
supplied or available for rent. Before you set out to
do anything too adventurous, however, check your
insurance cover.
Hiking
Hiking
gets you closer to the scenery than anything
else in Iceland. In reserves and the couple of
national parks you'll find a few
marked trails
,
though even here guideposts tend to be erratic and
you'll always need to be competent at using a map
and navigational aids, especially in poor weather.
However long you're hiking for, always carry
warm, weatherproof
clothing
, food and
water
(there are plenty of places in Iceland where porous
soil makes finding surface water unlikely), as well as
a torch, lighter, penknife,
first aid kit
, a foil insula-
tion blanket and a whistle or mirror for attracting
attention. The country is carpeted in sharp rocks
and rough ground, so good-quality, tough
hiking
boots
are essential - though a pair of neoprene
surf boots with thick soles are useful to ford rivers.
On lava, watch out for
volcanic fissures
, cracks in
the ground ranging from a few inches to several
metres across. These are easy enough to avoid when
Swimming and hot pots
You probably won't be coming to Iceland to
swim
,
but in fact this is a major social activity year-round
with Icelanders, and it's a great way to meet people
or see them unwinding. Just about every settlement
has a swimming pool, usually an outdoor affair and
heated by the nearest hot spring to around 28˚C.
There are also almost always one or two spa baths
or
hot pots
, providing much hotter soaks at
35-40˚C - another great Icelandic institution, and
particularly fun in winter, when you can sit up to
your neck in near-scalding water while the snow
falls thickly around you. Out in the wilds, hot pots
are replaced by
natural hot springs
- a welcome
way to relax trail-weary muscles.
Note that Icelandic swimming pools have
separate male and female changing rooms but no
private cubicles; and at all o
cial swimming pools
you are required to shower with soap before
getting in the water.
GRADING HIKES
Hiking trails in Iceland are not formally
graded
, though local organisations
sometimes use a boot icon to indicate
di
culty (one boot easy, five boots
tough). It's always prudent to seek local
advice about routes, but note that
Icelanders, hardened since birth to the
country's conditions, tend to
underestimate di
culties: a
“straightforward” trail often means
anything that doesn't actually involve
technical skills and climbing gear, but
might well include traversing knife-edge
ridges or dangerously loose scree slopes.
Fishing
As Iceland is surrounded by the richest fishing
grounds in the North Atlantic,
sea fishing
has
always been seen as more of a career than a sport.
The country's rivers and lakes, however, are also well
stocked with
salmon
and
trout
, pulling in hordes of
fly fishers during the
fishing season
(April 1 to
September 20 for trout; June 20 to mid-September
for salmon). Both fish are plentiful in all the country's
bigger waterways, though the finest salmon are said
