Iceland, Land of Fire and Ice - part 2

Welcome to the second part of the Iceland blogpost series. As promised, today the tour starts at Landmannalaugar, a remote encampment deep inside the mountains which is only accessible during the short Summer months (mid June to early September). 

Clouds and mountains, Landmannalaugar

The soft pastel colors really make this place a heaven on earth, especially with the great weather I had while I was there!

Cotton field Landmannalaugar

A nice one hour hike from the base camp brings one to this beautiful valley with wild cotton flowers.

Perfect transport for an Iceland trip

Although some people try to access Landmanna (as the locals call it) in normal cars through the North, a 4x4 is a must if one does not want to pay for a whole lot of damage when returning the car.

River crossing by horse, Landmannalaugar

The more exciting way is to follow the F208; a beautiful very bumpy ride through the mountains with numerous river crossings.



Green river mosses

South of Landmanna, I bumped into this amazing green moss valley along a small river. Can you image a better place for a picnic? And "no", the colors are not over-saturated. This is really how the place looked like!

F208 road South of Landmannalaugar

Even though one can hardly find a tree in Iceland, the landscape is very varied and is often very green.




Multiple river crossings on the F208 road

As one drives further South on the F208, the valleys starts gradually opening up.

Waterfall on the F208

Reflections from an extremely deep blue sky, gives the water this great dark color. At least now I know, why we always see water as something "blue".

Kylingavatn near Landmannalaugar

I'll end todays post with the image above of a lake close to Landmanna. After I climbed a small mountain on the lakeshore just before sunset, I realized why this country had been on my bucket list far too long. A heaven for landscape photography!

On part 3 we will have a closer look at the "Ice" part of the series!

Till then,
remember, “Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

BJORN
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Comments

Catalin said…
Bjorn, I'm really liking these shots from the second installment of Iceland. I didn't make it to that area and it looks really beautiful.
Bjorn Moerman said…
Thanks Catalin! Yes, it is definitively one of the more varied parts of Iceland. Next time around I want to do the West-fjords as you said. Thanks for the advice.