Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
wards through dunes and lava flows past the Dreki huts and up the hill towards Askja,
where you leave your car to walk the remaining 2.4km to the caldera.
Askja is part of the vast Vatnajökull National Park, so the park website (
www.vjp.is
)
has
excellent information.
LUNAR LANDSCAPES
If the endless grey-sand desert and jagged lava formations of Ódáðahraun appear other-
worldly, you'll understand why NASA astronauts of the Apollomission twice visited the
area around Askja (more specifically, the area south of the F910 east of Askja) for astro-
geological field trips in the 1960s.
Activities
For independent hikers, the website of Ferðafélag Akureyrar, the Touring Club of Akureyri
(
www.ffa.is
) outlines details of the
Askja Trail
. This is the organisation's walking trail
with huts across the Ódáðahraun, starting from Herðubreiðarlindir and ending at
Svartárkot farm in upper Bárðardalur valley (Rte 843). Hut beds must be booked well in
advance with FFA; see the website.
Also see the national-park website (
www.vjp.is
)
for hiking information.
For hiker transport in the area, your best best is
Mývatn Tours
. It can drop you at a hut
and arrange to pick you up a few days later.
Tours
Hiking Tours
Ferðafélag Akureyrar
HIKING
(FFA; 462 2720;
www.ffa.is
;Strandgata 23, Akureyri)
A couple of times a year (usually in July), Ferðafélag Akureyrar, the Touring Club of
Akureyri, organises five-day hut-to-hut hiking tours (Ikr59,600 per person) along the
Askja Trail. See 'Touring Program' on its website for details; the program is in Icelandic,
so look for 'Öskjuvegur' in July to see specific dates.
