• Borgarfjörður Eystri: This well-rounded coastal region combines many geological marvels found in the interior—particularly rhyolite mountainsides and their marbled patterns—with an abundance of flowering plants and the romantic melancholy of its formerly inhabited fjords and inlets. Locals have put great effort into designing maps, marking trails, and setting up 4WD tours of the area.
  • Hornstrandir Nature Reserve: The northernmost extremity of the Westfjords is for those whose eyes always roam to the farthest corners of the map. Protected since 1975, this sawtoothed peninsula has no roads, no airstrips, no year-round residents—only the beguiling coastline, flowering meadows, and cavorting birds and Arctic foxes the Vikings first encountered more than a millennium ago.
  • Kerlingarfjöll: A short detour from the relatively accessible Kjölur Route through the interior, this mountain cluster in the shadow of Hofsjökull has an astonishing range of scenery: lofty mountains, chiseled ravines, exotic geothermal fields, glimmering icecaps. The clinchers are the hot springs that form enormous natural Jacuzzis.
  • Kverkfjöll: Deep within Iceland’s highland desert interior, this geothermally restless mountain spur protrudes from Vatnajökull amid charred expanses of red, brown, and black rock dusted with lichen and moss. Best-known for a wondrous glacial ice cave, Kverkfjöll is anything but a one-hit natural wonder and merits 2 or 3 days to appreciate its austere gravitas.Landmannalaugar: This area’s undulating, multi-hued rhyolite slopes—with marbled streaks of yellow, red, green, white, and purple scree—make it one of the most photogenic landscapes on the planet and the most celebrated hiking area in Iceland.
  • Laugavegurinn: A world-renowned 4-day trek between Landmannalaugar and Þórsmörk through a cavalcade of inland scenery. Mossy lava fields, hot spring baths, glacial valleys, and desert expanses combine to make this a hiker’s paradise.
  • Skaftafell: Close to the Ring Road (Route 1) on the southern edge of Vatnajökull, and within the Vatnajökull National Park, Skaftafell is the most accessible of Iceland’s major hiking destinations, with startling panoramas of serrated peaks, shimmering icecaps, and barren floodplains stretching toward the sea.
  • Sveinstindur–Skælingar: Landmannalaugar unjustly steals the limelight from many nearby interior regions, most notably this amazing stretch of mountains and sediment-filled river valleys between Landmannalaugar and Vatnajökull. Views from the peak of Sveinstindur over the glacier-gouged Lake Langisjór are among the most sublime in all of Iceland.
  • Þakgil: This idyllic campsite is in a perfectly sheltered, stream-fed gully near the southeast edge of Mýrdalsjökull. The surrounding Tuff mountains have been elaborately sculpted by wind and water erosion; trails lead right to the moraines of the receding glacier.
  • Þórsmörk: This verdant alpine oasis, encircled by monumental glaciers and river-braided valleys of silt, has the aura of an enchanted refuge—a nice counterpoint to the distinctly Martian appeal of most interior regions.

Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before planning your trip.