Iceland Day 3
The day was packed full of beauty. We started out leaving our hotel in the town of Hella and headed east. We explored much terrain with the help of the 4x4 on almost exclusively off-road terrain. We traveled around the volcanic rock terrain of volcano Hekla, the most beautiful landscape of Landmannalaugar (which included the breathtaking sights of Frostastaðavatn and the crater lake Ljótipollur), and Eldgjá (the largest volcanic canyon in the world). We ended the day with our only night of tent camping in Kirkjubæjarklaustur, which was absolutely freezing and miserable for most of the night, but still fun! I have never seen a more concentrated batch of natural beauty as what was seen on this day of our vacation.
Traveling around Hekla volcano
This was the starting points for one of our favorite days in Iceland. We reached our first off-road trail on our trip to Hekla. The 4x4 was very handy for this entire day and we could not have done this entire day without it. Hekla was no exception. Most of the photos have the Hekla volcano in the background, obscured by the clouds. All of the terrain was pumice, and abnormally soft to walk on.
This was the starting points for one of our favorite days in Iceland. We reached our first off-road trail on our trip to Hekla. The 4x4 was very handy for this entire day and we could not have done this entire day without it. Hekla was no exception. Most of the photos have the Hekla volcano in the background, obscured by the clouds. All of the terrain was pumice, and abnormally soft to walk on.
Landmannalaugar (part 1)
We spent most of the day in Landmannalaugar, riding on many off-road trails and driving through many streams and rivers that seemed quite treacherous at times. The landscape was the most beautiful off our entire Iceland trip. Our entire 10-day trip could have been spent in this area, as it is amazingly vast and beautiful. There were very few people (given the off-road terrain and need to drive your vehicle through running rivers), and it felt as if we had the entire country to ourselves.
We spent most of the day in Landmannalaugar, riding on many off-road trails and driving through many streams and rivers that seemed quite treacherous at times. The landscape was the most beautiful off our entire Iceland trip. Our entire 10-day trip could have been spent in this area, as it is amazingly vast and beautiful. There were very few people (given the off-road terrain and need to drive your vehicle through running rivers), and it felt as if we had the entire country to ourselves.
Frostastaðavatn
This was a large, gorgeous lake somewhere inside the vastness of Landmannalaugar, which is surrounded by beautiful, colorful mountainside. This was our stop on our way to Ljótipollur
This was a large, gorgeous lake somewhere inside the vastness of Landmannalaugar, which is surrounded by beautiful, colorful mountainside. This was our stop on our way to Ljótipollur
Ljótipollur
This was one of the most breathtaking sights in all of our Iceland trip. The trail to get to the gigantic crater was about 4 km long, and filled with sights to see. In the center of the crater is an enormous lake, extremely placid and quiet. The pictures cannot capture how vast this crater actually is. Scott decided to climb down the steep slope into the crater and Amy stayed back and took photos of it. He barely made it back to the top and had to stop about 10 times to catch his breath. Inside the crater, there was virtually no wind and hardly a ripple on the surface of the lake -- very serene. The hike back was just as beautiful as the hike there. This crater lake was an absolutely amazing site to see, and was of the most memorable locations of any vacation we've ever taken.
This was one of the most breathtaking sights in all of our Iceland trip. The trail to get to the gigantic crater was about 4 km long, and filled with sights to see. In the center of the crater is an enormous lake, extremely placid and quiet. The pictures cannot capture how vast this crater actually is. Scott decided to climb down the steep slope into the crater and Amy stayed back and took photos of it. He barely made it back to the top and had to stop about 10 times to catch his breath. Inside the crater, there was virtually no wind and hardly a ripple on the surface of the lake -- very serene. The hike back was just as beautiful as the hike there. This crater lake was an absolutely amazing site to see, and was of the most memorable locations of any vacation we've ever taken.
Landmannalaugar (part 2)
Around this time of the day, the daylight really came out and showed the magnificence of the landscape in this area. These are the beautiful sights we saw on our way through Landmannalaugar to get to Eldgjá.
Around this time of the day, the daylight really came out and showed the magnificence of the landscape in this area. These are the beautiful sights we saw on our way through Landmannalaugar to get to Eldgjá.
Eldgjá
Eldgjá is the largest volcanic canyon in the world. After making it through most of Landmannalaugar, we found our way to this canyon quite late in the evening. Luckily, this was also a deserted location, which was extremely beautiful. We walked along the rocky, rugged canyon trail toward a gigantic waterfall, Ófærufoss that drained into a quiet, winding stream that traveled a large portion of the canyon. Despite being late in the evening, the sun was shining brightly enough, that we didn't notice. We made our way up to the waterfall overlook area, then back-tracked back to the 4x4.
Eldgjá is the largest volcanic canyon in the world. After making it through most of Landmannalaugar, we found our way to this canyon quite late in the evening. Luckily, this was also a deserted location, which was extremely beautiful. We walked along the rocky, rugged canyon trail toward a gigantic waterfall, Ófærufoss that drained into a quiet, winding stream that traveled a large portion of the canyon. Despite being late in the evening, the sun was shining brightly enough, that we didn't notice. We made our way up to the waterfall overlook area, then back-tracked back to the 4x4.