Southwestern Iceland - The Rough Guide to Iceland - page 86

Southwestern Iceland
Spread either side of Reykjavík, southwestern Iceland extends barely 200km
from end to end, but nowhere else are the country's key elements of history
and the land so visibly intertwined. Here you'll see where Iceland's original
parliament was founded over a thousand years ago, sites that saw the
violence of saga-age dramas played out, and where the country's earliest
churches became seats of power and learning. Culture aside, if you're
expecting the scenery this close to Reykjavík to be tame, think again: the
southwest contains some of Iceland's most iconic - and frequently explosive
- landscapes, compelling viewing whether used as a simple backdrop to a
day's drive, or as an excuse to spend a week trekking cross-country.

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Southwest of Reykjavík, bleak, semi-vegetated lava fields characterize the Reykjanes
Peninsula , site of the international airport at Keflavík, though the famous Blue Lagoon
adds a splash of colour. Due east of Reykjavík, a clutch of essential historical and
geological features - including the original parliament site at Þingvellir, Geysir's hot
water spouts, and Gullfoss' rainbow-tinged cataracts - are strung out around the
Golden Circle , an easy route tackled by just about every visitor to the country. Then
there's the central south , a broad stretch of grassy river plains further southeast again,
whose inland features the blasted landscape surrounding the volcano Hekla and hot
springs at Landmannalaugar; while back on its coast the rolling farmland of Njál's Saga
country is dotted with landmarks from this famous tale, not to mention beautiful
scenery around the glaciated highland valley of Þórsmörk. The south coast is decorated
with spectacular waterfalls fringing the Eyjafjallajökull and Mýrdalsjökull icecaps, both
of which harbour active volcanoes, before the highway runs east out of the region via
the attractive coastal hamlet of Vík. Offshore, a short ferry ride from the mainland
lands you on Heimaey, the small, intimate core of the Westman Islands , alive with
birdlife and bearing further recent proof of Iceland's unstable volcanology.
he climate in the southwest is relatively mild, despite it being the wettest, windiest
part of the country, prone to fog along the coast and potentially heavy snowfalls
through the year on higher ground.

GETTING AROUND
By bus Buses ply the Golden Circle and coastal Ringroad
(Route 1) to Vík throughout the year, with Landmannalaugar
and Þórsmörk connected over the summer; services around
the Reykjanes Peninsula are more restricted, though you can
easily get to the Blue Lagoon or Keflavík.

By car The southwest enjoys good access: most roads -
with the exception of a few on the Reykjanes Peninsula,
around Hekla, and those to Landmannalaugar and
Þórsmörk - are surfaced and generally accessible
year-round.

The Bridge Between Two Continents p.96
Touring the Golden Circle p.99
The Alþing at Þingvellir p.101
Þingvellir trails p.103
Short walks around Geysir p.106
An early conservationist p.107
Hveragerði hikes p.108
Hiking Hekla p.114

Njál's Saga p.120
Gunnarsstein p.121
Sæmundur and the seal p.122
Þórsmörk hikes p.126
The Skógar-Þórsmörk trail p.130
Surtsey p.134
Heimaey's pu ns p.138
Heimaey's Coastal Trails p.141