I just finished the Sprengisandur, but the weather was so wonderful that I was keen on the next highland experience, so I left Flúðir shortly after 6, the morning mist soon cleared
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Gulfoss waterfall presented itself at its best in the morning sun. Gulfoss, Þingvellir and the geysers nearby are called "Gullni hringurinn", the "golden ring", and are one of Iceland's main tourist attractions, which can all be done on a daytrip by coach from Reykjavík. But fortunately no bus had arrived so early in the morning.
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The badge reminds of Sigríður Tómasdóttir, a lady that campaigned 1920 together with the lawyer (and President of Iceland in later years) Sveinn Björnsson aginst an English investor who wanted to build a dam and power plant. Gulfoss became an Icelandic heritage site.
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(13) Kerlingarfjöll
The following pictures were not taken in Kerlingarfjöll, but depict the Kjölur highland gravel road, also known as Kjalvegur, that heads north between the glaciers of Langjökull and Hofsjökull and starts at Gulfoss.
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The area is also popular with friends of equitation. Icelandic horses can do not just walk, trot and canter, but a gait that is often described as being unique to them: tölt. The tölt is especially pleasant for the rider. I was able to capture a few ponies with different enthusiasm...
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Kerlingarfjöll is a volcanic mountain range some kilometers east of the Kjölur road.
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I pitched my tent and got hiking boots to visit the high-temperature area further up in the mountains. Numerous hot springs, mud pots, fumaroles and steaming streams were waiting for me. Basaltine layers cover the tuyas of rhyolite rock. The color play is fascinating and in good weather I would recommend longer, more extensive hikes there.
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I met some cyclists in Kerlingarfjöll, and we would run into each other the next days again and again. The next morning I did another hike and had a bath in a natural hot pot, which was about 30 minutes up the river.
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(14) Hveravellir
The geothermal area Hveravellir is just around the corner, the road was however quite bumpy and partly annoyingly difficult to drive. At the crossroads of Kerlingarfjöll and the Kjölur I met a couple in a VW bus with the number plate MB as Miesbach (the day before I already talked to a woman from Rosenheim), who were considering whether they should go to Kerlingarfjöll. I stopped, we were talking, as we discussed our trips around Iceland, experiences and sights, a rental car stopped and two more from Rosenheim arrived - a Southeast Bavarian summit meeting in the Icelandic highlands ...
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The high-temperature region of Hveravellir with hot-water springs, Bláhver ("Blue Springs"), fumaroles and the simmering Solfatar Öskurhöll ("roaring hill") surrounded by sintered terraces. The Icelandic Alpine Association Ferðafélag is running a hut, but you can stay in your tent too. The outlawed thief Fjalla-Eyvindur (I mentioned these crooks who sought shelter in the highlands, already at the Sprengisandur) lived there in the 18th century in a cave-like hut.
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It was a relaxing afternoon and evening with nice conversations at and in the tent and the very nice hot pot was within walking distance. Later it rained for the first time for days. The next morning and the whole day was rainy and cool, but I had the impression that the track north of Hveravellir is not as interesting as the southern part of the Kjölurpiste even in nice weather.
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Next stop is Blönduós, back to the north coast of Iceland, and on to the Vatnsnes peninsula and exploring the Westfjords ...
