Highlands
Into the Heart of the Country
The Highlands are the Iceland most visitors never reach: a volcanic interior covering roughly a third of the country, with no towns, no farms, and no permanent residents at all. For eight or nine months of the year the snow closes it off entirely, and then, for a few short summer weeks, the mountain roads open and the whole plateau becomes reachable. What waits there is the rawest landscape the country has: rhyolite mountains streaked in ochre and green, glacial rivers that must be forded rather than bridged, steaming geothermal fields, and calderas that look borrowed from another planet. To us, this is Iceland with the volume turned all the way up, and the region we save for travelers who want the country at its wildest and are willing to work a little for it.
Come and Discover the Highlands
Impressions of Highlands
What to See and Do in the Highlands
Our top 5 reasons to visit this region
Bathe Beneath the Peaks of Landmannalaugar
Soak in a natural hot spring at the foot of rhyolite mountains streaked with red, green, and gold, then set off on trails that wind through a landscape that looks painted rather than formed. It is the most beloved corner of the Highlands, and the starting point of the country’s most famous long-distance hike.
Swim in the Astronauts' Crater at Askja and Víti
Cross the Ódáðahraun lava desert to a vast volcanic caldera, then walk down to Víti, a crater lake of milky blue-green water warm enough to swim in. The surrounding moonscape was used to train Apollo astronauts, and standing in it, you understand exactly why.
Steam, Color, and Silence
Wander Kerlingarfjöll, a range of colored rhyolite peaks split by steaming geothermal valleys, where hot streams run through hillsides painted in every shade of rust and ochre. Long overlooked in favor of Landmannalaugar, it rewards everyone who makes the effort with far smaller crowds.
Escape to the Valley of Thor at Þórsmörk
Reach a green nature reserve cradled between three glaciers, where braided rivers and birch woods sit beneath ice on every side. Getting there means fording deep rivers, which is exactly why the valley stays as quiet and unspoiled as it does.
The Outlaws' Oasis
Break the north–south crossing at Hveravellir, a geothermal oasis of fumaroles and hot pools between two glaciers, where a natural bathing pool waits beside a mountain hut. For centuries this was a resting place for those crossing the interior.
"Landmannalaugar, in the remote Highlands, is a place like no other. Hiking trails wind through the area's photogenic rhyolite mountains, overlooking gorgeous lakes and multi-colored hills; it is like stepping into a painting. The gravel off-road trip into the area builds the excitement, and the end destination delivers a 'Wow' moment. Accessible by super jeep or 4x4 tours, it is well worth taking the time to step off the beaten track into the wilderness of the Icelandic Highlands."
Caroline Bjarnason
Itineraries for Inspiration
The Highlands work as long summer day trips from the south or as multi-day expeditions into the interior, and we build both. A single day by super jeep can take in Landmannalaugar's springs and colored peaks; a longer trip adds the Askja caldera, the Sprengisandur crossing, or the full Laugavegur trek with huts booked well ahead. Because the season is short and the huts fill months in advance, tell us your dates early and we will shape the route around what is open and what is realistic.
Inspirational Itinerary Name Goes Here
Trip Name, possibly going over into two lines
Day Tour Inside the Volcano
What our travelers find useful
A Summer-Only Region
The F-roads into the Highlands open only when the snow clears, typically from late June, and close again in September, with exact dates set each year by the road administration after inspection. Outside that window the interior is unreachable except on a specialist winter tour, so plan firmly inside it and check road.is before any Highland drive.
4x4 Is the Law, Not a Suggestion
Every F-road requires a four-wheel-drive vehicle, and taking a two-wheel-drive car onto one is illegal, voids all insurance, and can bring a fine. This is not a formality: the roads are loose gravel, steep, and often cross rivers, and the requirement exists because people had accidents getting it wrong.
River Crossings Are the Real Risk
Many Highland roads cross glacial rivers with no bridge, and the water can be waist-deep and rise fast after rain or on a warm afternoon when the glaciers melt harder. Most rental insurance, even the most expensive packages, explicitly excludes river-crossing damage, so if you are not completely confident, this is the moment to choose a guided super jeep instead.
Let Someone Else Drive
Guided super jeep tours are the safest and least stressful way to see the Highlands, run by drivers who know each river and read the day’s conditions for you. For travelers who want the interior without the responsibility of fording rivers in a rental, this is the option we most often recommend.
Come Prepared for No Services
There is no fuel, no shop, and often no phone signal across much of the interior, and the Sprengisandur route in particular has nothing at all along its length. Carry more fuel, food, water, and warm layers than you think you need, and never start a long crossing late in the day.
Iceland stories to inform & inspire
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Discover More of Iceland
Reykjanes Peninsula
The Reykjanes Peninsula is where your trip begins, minutes from the airport, and where the planet still looks half-finished: young lava, hissing vents, and a spot where you can stand with a foot on each of two continents.
Snæfellsnes & the West Iceland
Snæfellsnes and the West gather the whole island into one peninsula, with a glacier straight out of a Jules Verne novel, saga country, and Europe's strongest hot spring just down the road.
Capital Reykjavik
Reykjavík runs on heat from the ground small enough to cross on foot yet big on music, books, street art, and the geothermal pools where the city gathers.
The East
The East refuses to be rushed. The fjord roads take the long way around on purpose, wild reindeer graze the slopes, and towns like Seyðisfjörður tend to hold onto visitors longer than planned.
The North
The North is home ground for us. Come for the whales of Húsavík, the steaming lava and craters around Lake Mývatn, and Akureyri, the friendly northern capital where the coffee is always on.
Westfjords
The Westfjords are for travelers who want Iceland at its wildest and rawest: Europe's largest bird cliff, red-gold beaches, folklore coasts, and hot tubs looking straight out to sea.
The South
The South is the drive everyone dreams of: black beaches, glacier lagoons, a moss-walled canyon that twists toward the sea, and an ice cave you can visit even in summer, all lined up along one unforgettable coast.