Day 13 and 14 - Reykjavic

 

We were tired the next morning and decided not to do the side trips we had planned on the way to Reykjavic (Haifoss and Gjain). We directly drove to Reykjavic and checked in early at 1 pm into our apartment.

Day 12 - Landmannalaugar - Brennisteinselda hike

 Today, the plan was to drive on F-roads to Landmannalaugar - the People's Pool. Landmannalaugar is located in the Icelandic highlands and is famous as the starting point of the iconic Laugavegur trek, a 55 km trek that is considered one of the top 20 beautiful hikes in the world. Neel and I came back in Aug 2023 to do the 4-day Laugavegur trek.

At the top!

We had breakfast and headed out. We drove on Route 26 and then onto the F roads -  F225, F208 and F224. These were the bumpiest roads we have ever driven on. The roads were gravel, has small and large rocks and potholes. One needs a 4 WD car with a good clearance and we prayed that we don't get a flat! 

The start of the F roads were somewhat ok, but they got progressively worse, the closer we got to Landmannalaugar. These rippled patterns on the roads are called washboard and make for a very bumpy and uncomfortable ride. One has to really slow down to be able to drive on such roads.

Some of the views in the highlands were spectacular! We could see snow covered mountains in the distance.

The F-Roads were bumpy and raised a lot of dust.

Some of the views were remote and enchanting.

More dust on the roads. Some of the larger 4 WDs were able to go faster. We were averaging 20mph on these roads.

We parked, gathered up our backpacks and walked across the river on the little footbridge. Some cars directly drove through the river, but we didn't want to risk our car, in case we got stuck in the middle of the river.

It was a gorgeous sunny day. Blahnukur (The Blue Peak) is in the distance.

We walked to the huts, used the restroom, talked to some people there and then headed out for the trek up Brennisteinsalda.

This colorful mountain is called Brennisteinsalda. Our plan was to hike to the top of this mountain. The name translates to the "Sulphur Wave", referring to the hues of reds, blues and greens on the mountain. Its last eruption was in 1961, not that long ago! It is still visibly active with steaming vents and fumaroles. 

This mountain stands at 855 m (2805 ft) above sea level. The whole hike is about 6.5 km and will take about 2-3 hours.

This blue-black mountain is called Blahnukur. It is taller and a longer hike to get to the summit. 

Neel and I did the trek up Blahnukur in 2023 as part of the Laugavegur trek.

We hiked across the Laugahraun lava fields. The lava fields were from the 1477 eruption of Brennisteinsalda.

Looking back, can see the Landmannalaugar base camp, huts and camping tents.

This black, shiny rocks are called Obsidian. These are volcanic glass formed when lava extruded from a volcano cools rapidly with minimal crystal growth. It is an igneous rock.

After crossing the lava fields, we started walking towards the trailhead for the mountain.

From the lava fields, we got to the Vondugil Canyon, a flat valley with lovely wild flowers.

You get beautiful views of the Rhyolite mountains

The poles pointing to the Laugavegur trek route. We had completed 1.5 km at this time.

There are many day trip friendly hiking trails in this area.

Alex starting up the mountain.

Nice views along the trail.

The views got better as we started climbing higher.

We finally got to the top - the summit! It took about 1.5 hours. Some of the parts of the climb were slippery and steep, but overall was not that hard a hike.

On a clear day, we can see a couple glaciers in the distance.

One of a tour group hike leader kindly took some pictures of us as a family!

The panoramic view ! 

We had our packed lunch at the top, enjoying the views.

The customary jump - at the top !

Views of Blahnukur.

We started climbing down from the other side. Some parts were steep and we were happy to have our hiking poles. Kids did not feel a need for the hiking poles.

We could see steaming vents as we got near the base of the volcano.

Brennisteinsalda on our way back to the Landmannalaugar base camp. We decided not to laze in the hot river nearby the huts. 

Another jump as the base camp !

What an amazing view of the clouds and reflections !

We started driving back on the dusty F-Roads. It took about 2 hours to get back.

We were glad to be back in our cabin! Had a nice home-cooked meal.

And settled in for the night. We were headed back to the capital city tomorrow. Our trip is almost near the end.