Hiking around Iceland: Trails or walking on the ring road?
- By
- Aparna Patel
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- 22 Jul, 2023
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The ring road can be boring and also dangerous to hike. There are strong winds in the south including a lot of ashes or sand that sometimes even polishes cars and crashing windows. When we drove the ring road in the south the last time (August 2013), the wind was really really heavy and I was glad to have a car.
I would recommend to hike in the highlands. Choose a route according to your experience, equipment and time of the year. You will see much more of the amazing nature.
I’d like to emphasize again that the weather in the highlands (and all over the island) can change very quick and you should be aware of this when planning your route. There is an authority where you can register your route to get help if you get lost: Safetravel
There are also emergency shelters all over the island. Make sure you know where the next shelter is before starting the day.
I would recommend to take a mobile phone and get a prepaid card from Simmin and you will have at least GSM all over the island.
Camping is generally allowed in Iceland but you should ask the owner of the land/property where you want to stay. There are also a lot of camping places where you have a shared washing room and kitchen. I think they are quite cheap.
Personally I found Askja especially interesting. It’s a bit like hiking on the moon (without marked trails). There are some shelters were you can spend the night or sleep in your tent. If you go there by car make sure you know how to cross a river.
Useful links:
Walking on or next to the ring road (Road 1) is not advised as there is traffic, sometimes very limited view of the road and most certainly traffic will not expect hikers on the road!
You will also be bored to death on most sections as it has very long sections where you see little landscape change.
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There are numerous hiking trails in Iceland, ranging from easy half-days to strenuous multi-day affairs.
The website of the Icelandic Touring Association lists several options, but the list is nowhere near exhaustive. The most notable route is Laugarvegurinn.
I’d certainly recommend a proper nature hike over walking the ring road. It can’t be much fun to walk alongside all that traffic.
If you do go hiking in Iceland (and especially if you are not a part of a tour led by an experienced guide) make sure that you are well prepared, that someone knows your itinerary and check in regularly, and keep up with weather reports. Hiking in Iceland can be dangerous if proper precautions are not followed.
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