Iceland Mag

10 Reykjavik

Iceland Mag


The central highlands north of Vatnajökull: Burnt by volcanoes and stripped naked by ferocious winters

By Jón Kaldal

  • North of Vatnajökull glacier This is Iceland's most remote and desolate area. Photo/Vilhelm Gunnarsson

The gravel and black sand deserts north of Vatnajökull glacier that are now being evacuated because of the unrest in Bárðarbunga are only accessible for a few months of the year.

Her majesty Rising up in the horizon is Mt. Herðubreið, often referred to as the queen of Iceland’s mountains. Photo/Vilhelm Gunnarsson


Dreki mountain huts Located in Drekagil gorge in the region of Askja north of Vatnajökull. Photo/Vilhelm Gunnarsson


Kistufell mountain cabin Named after the nearby mountain Kistufell close to the most intense earthquakes. Photo/Vilhelm Gunnarsson

This is Iceland's most remote and desolate area. It's been burnt by volcanoes for centuries and then stripped naked by the relentless ferocity of long winters. It is truly a wasteland that will leave you in awe.

It is home to a few fantastic mountain cabins that have now been or are being evacuated.

This is the area where group of astronauts from NASA practiced in 1965 and 1967 in an environment similar to what they would encounter on the moon. Amongst the twelve men that have set foot on the moon nine trained in Iceland, including Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin.

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