冰岛南岸索尔黑马冰川徒步旅行团 - 升级攀冰版｜极限挑战｜自驾集合，也可选择雷克雅未克接送

埃亚菲亚德拉冰盖(Eyjafjallajökull)，也译作艾雅法拉冰川，是一座举世闻名的冰岛火山，2010年的火山大爆发曾一度阻断欧洲的航空交通。艾雅法拉冰川海拔1651米，是冰岛南岸的主要景点之一。

地理概况

艾雅法拉冰川的面积约为100平方公里，是冰岛的第六大冰川。冰岛第四大冰川米尔达斯冰川(Mýrdalsjökull)与其毗邻。与艾雅法拉冰盖一样，米尔达斯冰川下也掩藏了一座活跃的火山，名为卡特拉(Katla)。艾雅法拉火山的爆发震慑了世人，其实卡特拉火山内蕴藏的能量要远远超过艾雅法拉。

两座火山的岩浆房实则彼此连通，艾雅法拉火山的爆发也意味着，卡特拉火山亦将在本世纪内大规模爆发。

Gígjökull等多条分支冰川从艾雅法拉注出，许多河流也得到冰川融水的滋养，冰岛南岸塞里雅兰瀑布的水源就来自于艾雅法拉冰川。

艾雅法拉火山爆发

冰岛是一个火山之国。1783～1784年的拉基火山大爆发(Laki)在冰岛与世界历史上都记下了浓墨重彩的一笔，巨量火山灰从冰岛飘至欧洲大陆，甚至间接导致了法国大革命的爆发。2010年3月20日、4月15日，历史再次重演，艾雅法拉火山两度喷发，滚滚浓烟从火山口源源不断地涌出。

最危险的还不是火山岩浆，而是随之而来的能够摧毁一切的强劲冰川洪流。800人从该地区撤离，动物被挪至室内，有呼吸系统问题的居民也必须留在室内。

欧洲的航空交通因火山爆发而全面阻滞，截止4月15日晚，火山灰已抵达英国、斯堪的纳维亚与德国部分地区。欧洲旅客们的行程也被滞留了8天之久，在苏格兰与爱尔兰地区，部分航班甚至被推迟了一月之久。

火山爆发中并无人员伤亡，但冰岛南部居民的呼吸系统却受到了不同程度的影响，许多农场也被火山灰与冰川洪流摧毁。

自公元874年冰岛有人定居以来，艾雅法拉火山曾爆发了4次，分别在公元920年、1612年、1821～1823年以及2010年。19世纪的火山爆发中逸出了大量氟化物，深刻影响了当时的冰岛人与冰岛动物的骨骼构造。

今朝的艾雅法拉火山

如今冰岛南岸已经重归平静，艾雅法拉也成为了颇受欢迎的安全旅游景点。在Hvolsvöllur小镇，游客可以参观火山展览，了解Þorvaldseyri农场在火山爆发后的重建与新生。

冰岛的火山都被严密监控着，游客无需担心会在冰岛旅行时遭遇火山爆发的危险。近期内，艾雅法拉火山没有爆发的可能，但卡特拉冰川已在“蠢蠢欲动”。

索尔黑马冰川(Sólheimajökull)是冰岛南岸米尔达斯冰川(Mýrdalsjökull)的一条分支，距离雷克雅未克仅有158公里，是距离首都最近的冰川之一。

由于距离雷克雅未克较近、便于抵达，索尔黑马冰川是冰岛最热门的冰川徒步地点之一。另一处最受游客欢迎的冰川徒步体验地是东南岸的斯维纳山冰川(Svínafellsjökull)。

索尔黑马冰川地理概况

索尔黑马冰川面积广阔，长约8公里、宽约2公里。作为米尔达斯冰川的一支冰舌，索尔黑马冰川和米达冰川之间没有明确的分界，甚至看起来面积更大一些。

米尔达斯冰川是冰岛第四大冰川，索尔黑马并非其唯一一条分支冰舌。磅礴无垠的冰盖下实则隐藏了冰岛最活跃的火山之一：卡特拉火山(Katla)。

同样位于该地区的艾雅法拉冰川火山(Eyjafjallajökull)曾经在2010年大爆发，使欧洲航空交通一度瘫痪；根据以往经验，在艾雅法拉火山爆发后，卡特拉火山通常也会随之而爆发，然而目前为止卡特拉仍未有爆发迹象。

您无需担心在游览冰川时会遭遇火山爆发。冰岛有着完备的火山检测系统，如有迹象，政府会及时通知旅行团营运商与附近居民。只要您报名的冰川或火山旅行团仍然正常出发，就说明火山仍处于安全的状态；您甚至可以参加旅行团，进入冰川或火山的内部一探究竟。

让人惋惜的是，索尔黑马冰川的面积正在逐年锐减，冰川脚下的冰河湖也因冰川的快速融化而迅速扩大。冰湖每年都会扩展大约一个标准奥运泳池的面积。预计在未来的100年之内，索尔黑马冰川将完全消失。

全球变暖已经是无可逆转的现实。如果您有幸在索尔黑马冰川消失之前到访，请好好珍惜它日渐消逝的美丽。

索尔黑马冰川成为冰岛必游景点的原因有三：首先，冰川位于冰岛一号环岛公路沿线，易于到达，无论是顺时针还是逆时针环岛都会经过冰川。其次，冰川周围没有高耸的山脉，登顶后可以一览无余地领略冰岛南岸绝色全景。再次，冰川上有许多高耸的冰墙，十分适合进行攀冰活动，满足户外运动爱好者的挑战欲。

索尔黑马冰川上还有冰缝、冰裂、冰窟等特色冰川地貌，如果足够幸运的话，甚至还可以发现天然冰洞。与火山灰交杂的冰壁将呈现出黑、白、蓝相间的奇妙颜色，让人产生登上外星球的奇幻错觉。

索尔黑马冰川下还有一条冰川融水汇集成的河流：Jökulsá á Sólheimasandi。从冰川脚下一路缓缓而流，途径索尔黑马黑沙滩(Sólheimasandur)，冰川河最终汇入海洋。

索尔黑马冰川旅行团

不少从雷克雅未克出发的冰岛南岸一日游都会包含索尔黑马冰川游览或者冰川徒步项目，也有许多以索尔黑马冰川徒步为主题的一日游，一天之内即可在首都和索尔黑马冰川之间往返。

如果参加冰岛南岸一日游到访索尔黑马冰川，旅行团通常还会沿途造访斯科加瀑布(Skógafoss)、塞里雅兰瀑布(Seljalandsfoss)、雷尼斯黑沙滩(Reynisfjara)等景点，时常更长的一日游还会抵达瓦特纳冰川国家公园(Vatnajökull)和杰古沙龙冰河湖(Jökulsárlón)。

想要登上冰川徒步，必须跟随专业向导。冰川向导受过专业训练，对冰川地貌更加了解，能够保证游客的旅行安全。旅行团运营商还会为游客准备必需的安全装备：冰爪、冰镐、头盔等，参加者需要自行准备保暖防风的衣物和结实的登山鞋。

在正式开始冰川徒步前，向导将介绍安全装备的使用方法，讲解冰川上的安全须知。准备参加冰川徒步的游客最好懂英文，能够听懂向导的安全讲解，或者有同行翻译陪伴。出于安全考量，旅行团向导有权利拒绝不理解安全须知的游客参团。

Mýrdalsjökull is a glacier in the south of the Icelandic highlands. It is the country's fourth largest ice cap, covering nearly 600 square kilometres (232 square miles), and its highest peak is almost 1500 meters tall. It is most well-known for sitting atop the notorious and explosive volcano, Katla.

Mýrdalsjökull is visible from Route 1 on the South Coast, sitting to the north of the village of Vík. It is visited on some snowmobiling, ice caving and helicopter tours, and one of its glacial outlets, Sólheimajökull, is the most popular place in the country for ice-climbing and glacier hiking.

Eruptions beneath Myrdalsjokull

Since 2010, the world has known of the volcano beneath Eyjafjallajökull; after all, it halted European air travel for over a week and stumped news readers everywhere. Few, however, are aware of the much larger volcano right beside it.

Mýrdalsjökull conceals Katla, one of the country’s most active volcanoes, having erupted, on average, once every fifty years since 930 AD. Because of the glacier above it, these eruptions tend to cause enormous ash clouds. It is these ash clouds that lead to flights being grounded, crops and livestock poisoned, and have the potential to change the world’s climate.

The last major eruption beneath Katla was in 1918, in which such huge lahar floods occurred that the southern coastline was extended five kilometres outwards. This area is also very susceptible to glacial floods, or 'jökulhlaup', during eruptions, even when the lava does not break through the surface of the ice. These are as dangerous as the lava itself, having wiped out whole Icelandic villages before.

Historically, the area was little settled for this reason.

Katla is connected to the same volcanic system as Eyjafjallajökull and usually erupts violently a few years after Eyjafjallajökull does. As the ex-president, Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson said in 2010:

‘The time for Katla to erupt is coming close… it is high time for European governments and airline authorities all over Europe and the world to start planning for the eventual Katla eruption’

So it is currently several years overdue. Katla is monitored heavily, and roads around it closed when seismic activity increases. All road closures around Iceland can be found on Road and Coastal Administration's website.

Tours on Myrdalsjokull

While there are no eruptions immediately imminent, tours continue to run onMýrdalsjökull, allowing visitors to enjoy the glacier. It is, for example, possible to snowmobile across its surface throughout the year and take ice caving tours beneath it from October to April, with departures from both Reykjavík and Vík.

Considering the ice caves under Vatnajökull glacier are usually only accessible from November to March, this provides a wider window of opportunity for travellers to Iceland outside of the depths of winter. It should be noted that the caves in Mýrdalsjökull do not have the same blue ice, however.

Tours around Myrdalsjokull

Mýrdalsjökull can be seen on all South Coast tours that reach Vík and beyond in clear weather. It can also be seen from above on helicopter tours that depart from Reykjavík.

The best perspectives of the glacier, however, can be found on the popular Fimmvörðuháls hiking trail, which goes between Eyjafjallajökull and Mýrdalsjökull. Part of this hike can be done in a day, or you can take the complete route from Þórsmörk to Skógar on a three-day trek

The South Coast of Iceland is the country's most visited sightseeing route, along with the Golden Circle.

This incredible shoreline stretches from the greater Reykjavík area in the west to the magnificent Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon in the east and is lined with countless natural wonders such as cascading waterfalls, volcanoes, black sand beaches and glaciers.

Geography, Nature & Wildlife

The South Coast is the most easily accessible part of the country’s southern region, found along the Route 1 highway (the Ring Road), which encircles Iceland. The area consists of a diverse lowland that transitions between, marshlands, bays, cultivated pastures, estuaries and black sand deserts.

Underneath the soil rests a vast lava field, known as Þjórsárhraun. Its edges reach several hundred metres offshore where the ocean waves crash upon them, thereby protecting the lowland from the invasion of the sea. This results in the South Coast being unusually lacking in the deep fjords that so distinctly characterise the rest of Iceland's shoreline.

The region boasts vibrant bird life during all seasons. Freshwater birds nest in the marshlands and around the estuaries, while seabirds flock around the cliffs of Reynisdrangar and Dyrhólaey, including the North Atlantic puffin between May and August. Some species stay throughout the harsh Icelandic winter, including the northern diver, the loom and various species of gulls and ducks.  

Seals are often found along the shore, particularly around the Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon and Diamond Beach. As with everywhere in Iceland, you should always keep an eye out to sea, as whales and dolphins reside all along its coastline.

Highlights of the South Coast

The South Coast offers an unprecedented array of natural wonders that draw thousands of visitors each day.

When driving the route from Reykjavík city, the first major features are the two great waterfalls of Seljalandsfoss and Skógafoss, which sit beneath the notorious subglacial volcano, Eyjafjallajökull. On clear days from these beautiful cascades, the Westman Islands can be seen across the ocean.

A little further down the route is the glacier Mýrdalsjökull, which covers one of Iceland’s most explosive volcanoes, Katla. Many glacier hikes are taken here upon the outlet of Sólheimajökull.

The aforementioned Dyrhólaey cliffs are next, home to many seabirds. Even if you come outside of puffin season, they are well worth a visit; jutting out to sea is an enormous rock arch of the same name, which you can marvel at from many angles.

Adjacent to the village of Vík is the famous black-sand beach, Reynisfjara, home to the rock pillars of Reynisdrangar, said to be two trolls frozen by the light of the sun. Though beautiful, this area is gaining notoriety for its dangerous sneaker waves, so visitors should be sure to stay well away from the edge of the water, even on a calm, still day.

There are no landmasses between Reynisfjara beach and the continent of Antarctica, so you can imagine how the waves can build momentum.

After passing through Vík, you will cross the glacial sand plain of Skeiðarársandur, before entering Vatnajökull National Park, home to the largest ice cap in Europe, Vatnajökull itself, dozens of glacial outlets and the magnificent Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon.

While almost all of these sites can be seen from Route 1, they make up a fraction of what the South Coast has to offer. The vast sand plains of Sólheimasandur are home to a crashed DC-3 Plane Wreck, and within the Vatnajökull National Park is the dramatic Skaftafell Nature Reserve.

Less than a kilometre from Seljalandsfoss is the hidden gem of Gljúfrabúi waterfall, and short distances from Jökulsárlón you will find the Diamond Beach, where icebergs wash on the black-sand shore, and another glacier lagoon, Fjallsárlón.