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Be a Leader! Break away from the herd to
explore the road less traveled 
North Iceland offers a huge spectrum of scenery to explore,
from the soft and gentle to the awesomely spectacular. Most
of the communities are at sheltered coastal sites and really
come into their own in summer, when the midnight sun is at
its most glorious.
Akureyri, 45 minutes by air from Reykjavik and five hours
by road, is the regional center and natural base for travelers
with a whole world of nature right on its doorstep. This is
a town with family-friendly outdoor leisure sites and well-developed
services, and offers different attractions throughout the
year. In summer, you can choose between a hotel or guesthouse
in town or nearby holiday cottages with a geothermal jacuzzi.
Akureyri makes an ideal choice for winter breaks too, with
some of the finest ski slopes in Iceland as well as opportunities
all around for snow scooters, horse rentals, ice fishing and
other activities.
An hour away by road is Lake Myvatn, where a sizable community
has developed around this bird-watchers' paradise. Bizarre
natural lava sculptures stand out in and around the lake,
while at geothermal fields the land is painted in all colors
of the rainbow. Some way to the east, Jokulsargljufur National
Park completes the north's triangle of "musts" stretching
along an awesome canyon which includes Dettifoss, Europe's
most powerful waterfall.
On Skjalfandi Bay, the town of Husavik has established itself
as Europe's main whale watching center, with astonishingly
high sighting rates. Cruises are made on a quiet, old-fashioned
oaken boat and on shore there is an exhibition center dedicated
to the various species of whales that sport in the bay.
Skagafjordur district, with its smooth green valleys and mighty mountains,
is the traditional heart of horse riding in Iceland and boasts
some beautiful old buildings at its many historical sites.
A wide range of travel services can be found at Saudarkrokur,
the main town in Skagafjordur, as well as in the smaller communities
inland and along the coast.
Exploring in the East
East Iceland accounts for a large chunk of Iceland's total
area and much of it is either farmland or wild, gradually
merging into the great wilderness of the Central Highlands.
It is sparsely populated and the main communities are small
towns in a succession of fjords along the jagged coast, including
Seydisfjordur, where the car ferry Norrona to and from Europe
calls. Most of the towns in east Iceland are relatively recent
even though many have roots going back for centuries, but
Seydisfjordur is renowned for its impressive old houses from
around a century ago, when it was one of the largest population
centers in the country. Preserved ancient buildings also adorn
Djupivogur in the southeast, once the main trading post in
the region.
The regional center of the east, Egilsstadir, is deep inland,
on the banks of the sprawling river Lagarfljot where cruises
are offered. Nearby Hallormsstadaskogur is an impressive forest
in a country otherwise almost bare of trees. Beyond that lies
the wild and wooly natural habitat of Iceland's reindeer population.
The port of Hofn on the southeast corner is another major
town and the main base for exciting trips to the nearby glacial
cap of Vatnajokull. Another top attraction in the southeast
is on the glacier's rim: Jokulsarlon glacial lagoon, renowned
for its boat cruises among calving icebergs.
Few places in Iceland can match the
wealth of contrasts found at Skaftafell National Park, where
green woodlands and black mountains converge with the sheer
white glacier in the shadow of the country's highest peak,
Hvannadalshnukur (6,950 ft.).
Highland challenges
Between north, south, east and west Iceland lies the "fifth
dimension," the great interior of the Central Highlands where
man has never made his home and is still a rare visitor. Here,
nature is still at its rawest, with glaciers, deserts of black
sand, barren glacial moraine, steaming hot springs, active
and spent volcanoes and strange oases of vegetation, thriving
against all the sub-Arctic odds.
Two main overland routes link north and south, in fact following
ancient trails once braved on foot or horseback. The western
route over Kjolur is passable by ordinary vehicles in summer,
skirting Langjokull glacier on the way to Hveravellir geothermal
field before emerging by the Ring Road in the north. A side
road leads to Kerlingarfjoll mountains, a summer skiing and
hiking center.
The other, more directly central route is over the black
sands of Sprengisandur, and with only rough tracks as well
as unbridged and unpredictable rivers to cross, it can only
be negotiated by big 4WD vehicles, and even then preferably
in convoy. The Sprengisandur route threads its way between
glaciers to come out southeast of Akureyri, near Lake Myvatn.
Other highland favorites are the area around Mt. Askja, where
weary travelers can bathe in a naturally warm lake called
Viti (Hell), and Kverkfjoll high-temperature geothermal field
on the rim of Vatnajokull, where the heat creates fantastic
but ever-changing caves in the ice. Guided tours are a popular
way to see the area, either as part of an all-in package tour
or taken for a day or two.
Play it safe! Inquire about the state of highland roads before
you set off, tell someone about your plans - and don't take
risks.
Travel to the Central Highlands is limited to summertime
- check the Public Roads Administration website www.vegag.is
to find out exactly which roads are open when.
Day trip packages are also available from Reykjavik, including
return flight with a whale watching cruise and visit to the
exhibition center.
Scheduled coaches on the north-south run also operate some
overland services during the summer, for sightseeing rather
than stopping.
Iceland's northernmost face can be seen on Grimsey, the only
part of the country crossed by the Arctic Circle, where a
hundred islanders and millions of seabirds live in proud defiance
of the elements. Grimsey can be seen on a day trip from Reykjavik
and visitors there are presented with a certificate to prove
they have crossed into the Arctic.
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