Highlands
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Grapevine Events: Nai Barghouti At Harpa, Kling & Bang Openings, First Day Of Summer Festival
If you’re looking for something fun to do in Reykjavík this weekend, you’re in the right place! Today (April 17), at 18:00, Edda Karólína Ævarsdóttir opens her solo exhibition Allt fram streymir at Herma. Through large-scale wooden sculptures, the artist reflects on constant…
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Road Into Landmannalaugar Opens For Summer Season
The Icelandic Road Administration opened the road into Landmannalaugar via the Sigalda Power Station yesterday, marking a late start to the summer season in this part of the Highlands. [su_pullquote]Summer Sale on T-Shirts in the Grapevine shop! We only have a chance…
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Horse Race Takes Place Over Highlands
The National Association of Horsemen (Landssamband hestamanna) put on a four-day endurance race over the highlands which ended yesterday. Having begun the journey in Skagafjörður, the riders traveled roughly 70 kilometres per day until they reached Þingvellir. Four participants, two Icelanders and…
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Controversy Surrounding Proposed Highlands National Park
The Highlands of Iceland is one of the largest undeveloped areas in all of Europe, covering some 40,000 square kilometres of Arctic desert, glaciers and mountains. Accessible only during a brief window of summer due to its elevation and other factors, it…
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Landvernd Conference Discusses Turning The Highlands Into A National Park
Today at 15:00, the Icelandic Environment Association (Landvernd) will be holding a conference on their Facebook page. The conference is entitled “The Highlands – Iceland’s Most Valuable Resource”. Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir will give an address. Following this, Grímur Sæmundsen, Jón Kalman…
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Abandoned Iceland #14: The Laugavegur Hike Day 4
The fourth and final day! There’ll be canyons, caves, hot pools and gulp the last glacier river. Will we make it to Þórsmörk in one piece? Tune in to find out. Can’t get enough of all the hiking action? Checkout the Laugavegur…
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Abandoned Iceland #13: The Laugavegur Hike Day 3
Ever wanted to see two Grapevine writers cross a glacier river and make a big ol’ fuss about it? Well you’re in luck. Day three of the Laugavegur trail sees us face two chilly rivers, a concerning coffee shortage and an awful…
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Abandoned Iceland #12: The Laugavegur Hike Day 2
On day 2 we traverse 12km from Hrafntinnnusker in the snowy highlands to the stunning lakeside campsite, Alftavatn. There’ll be jaw-dropping vistas, very windy tents and even some geothermally cooked hotdogs! To read about our full experience and see some fantastic photos…
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Abandoned Iceland #11: The Laugavegur Hike Day 1
Stretching 54 km between the geothermal hot pools of Landmannalaugar and the luscious Þórsmörk valley, the Laugavegur trail is Iceland’s best-loved hikes. So we decided it was high time a group of Grapevine adventurers took on the challenge. Tune in for snow…
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Travel Like A Tourist: Journeying Through Iceland Like An Icelander
Presenting: The Ultimate Grapevine Travel Iceland Guide. Scroll down for our favourite places in the north, east, south, west and more. It truly feels like we are living in dystopian times. The COVID-19 pandemic has rapidly changed the world in such nuanced…
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A Lassie On Laki: Josie Takes Us On Another Mountainous Adventure
What do the French Revolution, national bard of Scotland Robert Burns, and Iceland all have in common? The answer is Laki—a volcanic fissure in the south of Iceland that was responsible for an eight-month long eruption that began in June 1783 and…
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Iceland’s Highland Rescuers Particularly Busy This Summer
Volunteers from 30 different rescue squads have been on watch across Iceland’s Highlands, as an early start to the summer has met more visitors than usual. RÚV reports that there are four bases of operations for these volunteers, located at Landmannalaugar, Nýjadal,…
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Best Of North Iceland 2019: Best Road Trip
North Iceland is a bucket-list of must-experience majesty. As the capital of the north, Akureyri is Iceland’s second-largest city and provides a fantastic base from which to explore fjords, the Arctic Ocean, and the volcanic desert. Travelling to the northern tip of…
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Kerlingarfjöll: A Stunning Geothermal Hike In The Highlands
The bus bounces over the bleak highland desert under heavy, spitting clouds, taking a sharp right turn and trundling down the track towards the Kerlingarfjöll mountain resort. A few kilometres later, a tranquil scene comes into view—a tall, sculptural rust-and-ochre escarpment standing…
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The Invisible Canyon : A Hike In The Windblown Outback Of Landmannahellir
For many Icelanders, the summer isn’t complete without a visit to the vast, desolate heart of Iceland—The Highlands. This region is dotted with some of the most amazing sights of the country. Landmannalaugar—the famous basecamp for many beautiful hikes, and the destination…
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In Photos: Road Tripping Through The Icelandic Highlands
As we drove through the Highlands for our recent “Into The Highlands” cover feature, we saw countless memorable places, wide expanses, mountain ranges and natural beauty spots. There were way to many to fit into the print edition, and even the online…
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Into The Highlands: A Five Day Trek Into Iceland’s Wild Interior Desert
Note: Driving in Highlands requires advance research on everything from suitable car types to weather, road conditions, prohibited practises, and river crossings. Visit safetravel.is and road.is for further guidance. The engine judders to a halt, and we step out of the van…
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Police Want To Ban Small Cars From Some Parts of the Icelandic Highlands
The Chief Superintendent of the Police believes that small cars should be forbidden from crossing some glacial rivers and mountain passes, RÚV reports. He also believes this necessitates more obvious signage in more languages warning travelers not to travel into certain areas…
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Into Dust: A Road Trip To The Infamous Kárahnjúkar Dam
Iceland’s wild Highland interior is a mysterious place. For a large part of the year it’s completely off limits unless you have a snowmobile, a specially modified Jeep, or some cross-country skis, plus a lifetime of experience and a sense of adventure.…
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Island Life: Misbehaving Tourists Pt. 23424, Highlands Park, Productive Cows
Every time we think we’ve heard it all when it comes to tourist misbehaviour, a new story pops up. This time, a group visiting Gullfoss waterfall decided to ignore a sign that said “Area Closed! Unsafe Conditions.” The area was closed to…
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Green Light For National Park In The Highlands & Vatnajökull, Questions Remain
After several high-profile campaigns in recent years from Icelandic celebrities and environmental agencies—including the Björk and Andri Snær Magnason-fronted ‘Protect The Park’—the Icelandic government has set up a council to found a new National Park in the Highlands. The park would include…
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Alone In The Wild: A Highland Getaway At Kerlingarfjöll
The journey to the highlands mountain resort of Kerlingarfjöll starts early, on a grey and rain-spattered late summer morning. At the crowded BSÍ bus terminal, travellers yawn as they wait in line, their waterproof rucksacks lined up neatly beside them. As usual,…
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British Tourist Crawls For 2 Hours With Broken Leg
A British man in his thirties broke his thighbone while running close to the Seljalandsfoss waterfall in the south of Iceland, reports ruv.is. The tourist was staying at a guesthouse and had gone alone in the moors above the waterfall last night…