兰德曼纳劳卡＋赫克拉火山｜内陆高地超级吉普旅行团

The Icelandic Highlands cover the majority of the country and many of Iceland’s impressive natural attractions can be found here. Away from crowds, noise and bustle, the Highlands offer silence, serenity, peace and extreme natural beauty.

A favourite amongst hikers and photographers, the Highlands are accessible from June to September.

The Central Highlands

The Central Highlands cover a vast area, at an altitude of over 500 metres (1640 feet), with numerous mountains reaching heights between 1,000 and 2,000 metres (3,281 and 6562 feet). Most of these higher mountains are covered by glaciers.

The tallest mountain in the country is located in the Highlands, beneath Europe’s largest glacier, Vatnajökull. Hvannadalshnúkur stands at an incredible 2,109 metres (6,919 feet) tall and can be reached on some helicopter tours. Another notable peak is Bárðarbunga, a sub-glacial volcano in northwest Vatnajökull that stands at 2,000 metres.

Vatnajökull is the greatest of the three largest glaciers in the country, all of which are in the Central Highlands; the others are Hofsjökull in the centre of Iceland and Langjökull, west of Hofsjökull.

Various highlands paths lie between the glaciers. These usually open in June, but late snows have been known to push the opening to July. One of the major routes is Kjölur, which connects the south and north of Iceland. It is located between Hofsjökull and Langjökull and passes through a region of rhyolite mountains and geothermal oases.

Sprengisandur, is another noteworthy path connecting the south and north, and it is located between Hofsjökull and Vatnajökull.

Kaldidalur is also a significant highland road stretching west of Langjökull, from Þingvellir towards the Borgarfjörður district.

Always remember that the natural environment that makes up Iceland's Highlands is as delicate as it is enchanting. The slightest damage inflicted upon small areas can cause erosion and irreversible landscape wounds that can easily spread over large areas. Consequently, when travelling in the Highlands visitors must at all times uphold responsible travel etiquette.

Driving off-road and designated paths is strictly forbidden and punishable by heavy fines. The moss is delicate and should not be walked or camped on, let alone removed, and fishing is heavily regulated.

The South Highlands

Almost all the mountains south of the glaciers are tuff mountains, formed during the Ice Age. Volcanic activity is confined to tuff areas of the country and the southern Highlands are home to some of Iceland's most active volcanoes: Hekla, Eyjafjallajökull and Katla, which sits under Mýrdalsjökull, Iceland’s fourth largest glacier

Eyjafjallajökull is the most famous of these volcanoes. When it erupted in 2010, it caused major disruption to air travel across Europe, and widespread confusion to newsreaders everywhere as they tried to pronounce it; it was thus nicknamed to E11.

The South Highlands is also home to Landmannalaugar, one of the country's best hiking and hot spring bathing sites.

Northeast, Central-North and Northwest Highlands

In the northeast of the Highlands are the Lakagígar Craters the famous subglacial lake and volcano, Grímsvötn, and the glacier Öræfajökull. North of Vatnajökull, the best-known volcanoes are Askja and Krafla.

Also in this area is the Jökulsárgljúfur canyon, which holds the most powerful waterfall in Europe, Dettifoss.

The northwest and central-north Highlands consist of ancient basalt formations, similar to the mountains that comprise the Eastfjords.

Highland Oases

There are a few oases in the highlands that have unique vegetation and wildlife. The most important of these are Þjórsárver, Nýidalur/Jökuldalur, Herðubreiðarlindir and Eyjabakkar. The pink-footed goose has its main nesting places at Þjórsárver and Eyjabakkar. Þjórsárver was designated as a Ramsar site in 1990.

Wild reindeer reside in the east Highlands; this is the only place they can be seen. Initially brought over for farming, the industry never took out and they have roamed free in their herds since.

兰德曼纳劳卡(Landmannalaugar，意为“国民温泉”)位于冰岛南部的内陆高地地区，是冰岛夏季最受欢迎的热门徒步景点之一，以缤纷的地质色彩与天然的地热温泉而闻名。

地质风光

兰德曼纳劳卡的地质景色开阔而壮丽，有着令人屏息的美感。兰德曼纳劳卡高地坐落于Laugahraun熔岩原的边缘；这片诞生于1477年火山爆发的黝黑岩浆地，与色彩斑斓的兰德曼纳劳卡形成了极鲜明的对比。

冰岛中央内陆高地的明丽颜色来自这一地区的流纹岩山脉，红、粉、绿、蓝、金等多种色泽彼此交织，构成了流纹岩独一无二的奇妙纹理。

兰德曼纳劳卡的另一大地质风光是天然地热温泉。几世纪来，这里一直都是行客们歇脚休息的天然驿站，温暖舒适的温泉水能将人们旅途的疲惫彻底洗去。来兰德曼纳劳卡旅行的游客，也要记得带上泳衣与浴巾，秉持远古先民的遗风，在大美冰岛自然间纵情野浴。

Sigölduleið(即F208号公路)是通往兰德曼纳劳卡的必经之路，道路两旁就有地热温泉分布；Bláhylur火山口湖等自然胜景也位于道路沿线。

游客一般通过两条自驾路线前往兰德曼纳劳卡。最快捷的路线经由冰岛西部的塞尔福斯镇(Selfoss)或黄金圈景区的辛格维利尔国家公园(Þingvellir)；沿冰岛南岸进入高地的路线更加漫长，但沿途可以游览闻名遐迩的瀑布、火山、冰川、黑沙滩等冰岛自然景点。前往冰岛中央内陆高地，必须选择租用四驱车。

游客也可以选择更加奢华、更加便捷的旅行方式，乘坐直升机直降兰德曼纳劳卡。如果旅行预算有限，也可选乘大巴前往。

徒步旅行

兰德曼纳劳卡标志着Laugavegur徒步路线的北端终点。Laugavegur也是冰岛最受欢迎的徒步路线之一，连接着冰岛内陆高地的兰德曼纳劳卡、索斯莫克(Þórsmörk，“雷神索尔的山谷”)以及南岸平原地区的斯科加瀑布(Skógafoss)。

这里还有着许多主题、长途各异的徒步路线。一条通向炫目多彩的Brennisteinsalda火山；这座被称为“硫磺波浪”的火山口仿佛一条色谱，将斑斓的地质岩石色彩熔于一炉。另一条则通向Bláhnjúkur“蓝峰”火山；登上山顶一览高地全貌，周围的五座冰川皆可尽收眼底。

每年的6月中旬至9月中旬，许多冰岛运营商都会开放中央内陆高地徒步旅行团，这一地区的露营地届时也会开放。喜爱户外探险运动的游客，不妨在兰德曼纳劳卡体验露营与徒步，以跟团或自驾的旅行方式进行一日游或多日游。

海克拉火山(Hekla)，亦翻译为赫克拉​​​​​​​火山。 nicknamed ‘the Gateway to Hell’ in the Middle Ages, is one of Iceland’s most explosive, unpredictable and powerful volcanoes. It has erupted twenty to thirty times since settlement, and remains active to this day.

Geography of Hekla

Hekla is located in the south of Iceland, just north of the country’s most famous volcano, Eyjafjallajökull, which last erupted in 2010, causing planes to be grounded and reporters to be tongue-tied for weeks. A dominant peak, standing at 1,491 metres tall (4,892 feet), it can be seen for miles around.

Hekla is part of a 40 kilometre (25 mile) rift, the most active part, called Heklugjá, being under the volcano itself. There are many craters at the peak, two of which are known to erupt more than the others.

Unlike Eyjafjallajökull and Iceland’s other most active volcano, Katla, Hekla does not sit underneath any significant glacier, meaning its eruptions should not cause ash clouds to the same degree. In spite of this, some have been so great that the ash produced was still enough to change the climate of the northern hemisphere for years.

Hekla has also produced one of the greatest lava flows of this millenium of any volcano in the world, at eight cubic kilometres. Approximately 10 percent of Iceland’s landmass was brought up by lava from Hekla.

History of Hekla

The first recorded eruption at Hekla was in 1104, and it was so great and significant that it drew attention across Europe; the effects it had on the weather, on people’s breathing, and on agriculture lasted for years.

This, however, was not the first time it had done so; undiscovered by man, it had contributed to a third of all volcanic ash across northern Europe for the past seven millenia.

It would not significantly erupt again until 1300, although it had been recorded going off several times in between; one of the most notorious things about Hekla is its unpredictability, sometimes exploding within a decade of its last eruption, sometimes laying dormant for nearly a century.

For this reason, the farms around it were largely abandoned, partly explaining why today there are few settlements in Iceland’s south.

Further serious eruptions occurred in 1693 and 1845 with international consequences, but none as significant as the one that began in 1947. Lava bombs weighing over 20 kilograms (44 pounds) landed 32 kilometres away; some as large as 50 square metres (538 square feet) were thrown a kilometre. It took just 52 two hours before the enormous cloud of ash was covering Helsinki.

It would be thirteen months before the eruption stopped, ebbing and flowing with power, but constantly pouring ash into the atmosphere, poisoning crops and livestock.

It is likely many died of respiratory problems as a result, but Hekla even directly killed one person. A scientist filming the great lava flows from the crater, some of which were 15 metres (49 feet) tall, was struck by a block of lava.

Hekla erupted again in 1970 for two months, but since has only gone off for a few days at a time, in 1981, 1982, 1991 and 2000.

Though the 2000 one seemed inconsequential, it was later discovered that it proved that Hekla was even more frightening than was already thought. The remains of a pyroclastic flow, the most dangerous element of an eruption, where searing ash and rock travel at enormous speeds and raze all they meet, had occured for over five kilometres (three miles).

Hekla today

In spite of its volatile nature, Hekla can still be considered a safe place to visit; there are hiking opportunities all around it, and some tour operators embark in super jeeps journeys to its slopes. Visitors should not be afraid of the volcano’s potential, just aware of it.

Of course, before heading to Hekla if travelling without a guide, ensure you check the meteorological office’s website to ensure that there are no alerts that an eruption may be imminent. The volcano is monitored constantly.

In spite of this, Hekla remains as unpredictable as it ever was, and visitors are warned that in spite of every good measure, there is always a chance an eruption could start without being noticed.

Volcanologists also warn that it is overdue, and due to this volcano’s patterns, the warning time between knowing an eruption is imminent and it occurring will often be just an hour or less.

Domadalur is a valley east of Kringla (Landmannahellir cave) in the south of the Icelandic highlands.

The valley has a little shallow lake and east of it is a sandy obsidian lava field called Domadalshraun. The cabins of travel service Landmannaleidir e.hf. are nearby with good acommodations for travelers and horses, along with a camping ground.

Þjórsárdalur is a valley in the southern highlands of Iceland, with many beautiful features in its vicinity.

Natural sites within Þjórsárdalur

Þjórsárdalur runs along the river Þjórsá, Iceland’s longest river. Where a tributary of this river, the Fossá, tumbles into the valley, it creates the magnificent waterfall Háifoss.

Háifoss is one of the tallest waterfalls in the country. It falls dramatically from a height of 122 metres (400 feet) with enormous power, shattering on the black rocks below. A viewing point has been erected near the waterfall.

The Þjórsárdals hot springs can be located near Háifoss.

Háifoss is the most significant waterfall in the area, but visitors should not overlook the beautiful Hjalparfoss.

Búrfells woods are another natural attractions, being a particularly large forest for Iceland. Þjórsárdalur is, in fact, quite the botanist’s paradise, with many species of wildflower, grass and moss.

Þjórsárdalur is within clear sight of the notorious volcano Hekla, and near the Þjórsá lava, the largest lava field in the country. This lava field holds the famous Kerið crater.

Þjórsárdalur is popular for rock-climbing due to its many sheer cliffs, but note that this should only be done by experts in the company of other experts.

Cultural sites withing Þjórsárdalur

Within Þjórsárdalur is a farm, excavated in 1939, previously covered in the ashes of an eruption from Mount Hekla in 1104, called Þjóveldisbӕrinn the Strong. Nowadays, visitors can witness how houses looked in the Settlement Era.

There is also a hydroelectric power station near Þjórsárdalur, where visitors can witness how Iceland gets the majority of its electrical energy. Though they keep Iceland’s emissions low, these stations are still controversial, as many would prefer a greater focus on geothermal energy, which does not affect the rivers.

Finally, there is a golf course within Þjórsárdalur, for those who want to break their holiday up with a relaxing game.

Ljótipollur is an explosion crater and crater lake in the south Highlands. Its name means ‘Ugly Puddle’, despite the fact it is an incredibly beautiful site. It is part of the Veiðavötn volcanic area.

Ljótipollur is located in the southern highlands, in the Fjallabak Nature Reserve. It is most easily reached by those who go to Landmannalaugar, and take the four-hour hike to it and back.

Landmannalaugar is a highland oasis, open throughout the summer months, with colourful rhyolite mountains and hot springs. It is a hiker’s paradise, marking one end of the Laugavegur trail that ends in Þórsmörk. Though this journey takes four days, Ljótipollur is a perfect example of a hike within Landmannalaugar that can be done within hours.

Those in Landmannalaugar who wish to take a shorter hike should take those to Mount Brennisteinsalda or Mount Bláhnúkur.

Ljótipollur is a beautiful feature, with blue waters, green vegetations growing up and down its slopes, and vividly coloured red lava rock surrounding it.

Wikimedia, Creative Commons, Photo Credit: Bromr

Hjálparfoss is a waterfall (or, officially, a pair of waterfalls that conjoin) in south Iceland.

Description of Hjlálparfoss

Hjlálparfoss is an incredibly serene feature, marking where the rivers Fossá and Þjórsá meet. Both of these are renowned as some of Iceland’s best and easily accessible fishing rivers, while Þjórsá also takes the title of being the country’s longest.

The two rivers fall from a lava field at about a 45 degree angle from each other, from about the same height, and their cascades merge as they tumble into a serene pool.

The lava field that this feature falls from was created in one of the many eruptions of the nearby Hekla volcano. Hekla is one of Iceland’s most active, unpredictable and explosive volcanoes, so violent that in the Middle Ages it earned the nickname ‘the Gateway to Hell’.

Hjálparfoss is but one of the many waterfalls in this area. Nearby, one can also find Þjófafoss, which flows from the Þjórsá river, and Háifoss, one of the tallest waterfalls in the country.

The water that flows from Hjálparfoss feeds the country’s second largest hydroelectric dam, which sits just a little downstream.

Getting to Hjálparfoss

Hjálparfoss is easy to get to, being just 30 kilometres (19 miles) from the village of Flúðir, famous for being home to the ethereal Secret Lagoon.

To reach it from Reykjavík, travel along the Ring Road heading south, before turning left onto Route 30. Turn right onto Route 32, which is a gravel road, and Hjálparfoss will be on your right as you get towards the end of the road.

Hjálparfoss is close to other popular locations, such as the aforementioned waterfalls and lagoon, and the famous sites of the Golden Circle. It is more than possible to comfortably visit it alongside Þingvellir National Park, the Geysir Geothermal Area and Gullfoss waterfall within a day.

At Stong in Thjorsarsalur valley in South Iceland you can see the Thjodveldisbaer, a reconstructed viking turf house based on the ruins of the old manor farm Stong.

The ruins themselves are well preserved and were closely followed during the reconstruction to give as fair a representiton of the abode of the chieftains of the saga age as possible.  

There are good lodging accomodations in the area and the valley itself is home to a number of other attractions, including the Gjain canyon, Haifoss, one of the highest waterfalls in Iceland, the waterfall Hjalparfoss, and the vertical cliff Vegghamar, highly popular for rock climbing.

Credit: Wikimedia, Creative Commons. Photo by Gestumblindi.

Frostastaðavatn is a highland lake renowned for its vivid blue and green colouration and its popularity amongst photographers.

Close to the beloved hiking and hot spring area Landmannalaugar and the notorious volcano Mount Hekla, it is frequently visited by those hiking the Laugavegur trek. It can also be visited on day hikes and super jeep tours.

Frostastaðavarn is surrounded by colourful rhyolite mountains, from which you can attain incredible views over Iceland’s interior.