Summer evening by Lúdentsborgir Lúdentsborgir are part of a crater row in the Mývatn area.
large number of locations to enthral those who desert of Sprengisandur where Kiðagil was love the wilderness and its adventures. a popular place of rest, a kind of mountain oasis. The memory of this resting place has The Highlands, in their stark beauty been rendered immortal by the following These barren expanses offer countless routes lines from a well-known Icelandic ballad by of adventure. Some of these possibilities are poet Grímur Thomsen: described in more detail below. Gæsavötn are two shallow lakes to the If Kiðagil I could descend east of Tungnafellsjökull glacier. There is I’d give my best steed to that end. some vegetative cover around the lakes. The ruins of a stone and turf hut were found here Dyngjufjöll mountains are located to in 1932; perhaps a testimony to outlaws or the north of the Dyngjujökull glacier, an ancient shelter for mountain travellers. which extends north from Vatnajökull. This In olden times, a common route between is a barren mountain cluster encircling the north and south Iceland lay across the rocky 50km2 Askja caldera. Subsidence in Askja’s
south-east corner has formed a smaller caldera now filled by Öskjuvatn, one of Iceland’s deepest lakes, with a maximum depth of 220 metres. The Víti crater next to Öskjuvatn was formed in a huge explosive volcanic eruption in 1875. The warm water in the crater is suitable for bathing and is popular with visitors.
Queen of the Mountains
Ódáðahraun is Iceland’s most extensive lava field, a practically continuous desert from the Vatnajökull glacier northwards to the mountains in the Mývatn region. The most renowned of those is Herðubreið, a table mountain 1682 metres in height, long referred to as ‘the Queen of Icelandic mountains’ and recently elected Iceland’s National Mountain by popular vote. A pprox i m ate ly 5k m nor t h of t he mountain are Herðubreiðarlindir springs, a green oasis in stark contrast to the bleak surrounding desert. Conspicuous among the lush Herðubreiðarlindir flora are clusters of garden angelica, several willow varieties and colourful aggregations of arctic river beauty. Herðubreið and its surrounding areas were declared a nature reserve in 1974. Kve rk f jöl l mou nt a i n s a re a hu g e mountain range at the northern extremity of Vatnajökull glacier. The region is characterised by alternations of ice sheets and clusters of natural hot springs, with the most prominent, Hveradalur, being the among the greatest high temperature geothermal areas in Iceland. In summer, regular tours are operated to the Kverkfjöll region from Akureyri, Húsavík and the Mývatn District.