Iceland (Lonely Planet, 7th Edition) - Fran Parnell [244]
Hótel Skaftafell ( 478 1945; www.hotelskaftafell.is; Freysnes; s/d €170/190, d with glacier view €210; Mar-Oct) Recently acquired by the Fosshotel chain, this is the closest hotel to the Skaftafell visitor centre, 5km east at Freysnes. Its 63 rooms (all with bathroom and TV) are functional rather than luxurious, but staff are helpful, and even the rooms in the prefabricated buildings at the back have great glacial views. There’s a good restaurant (mains Ikr2500 to Ikr3500) serving ‘Sean Connery salad’, fresh char, puffin, lamb and lobster, and a recommended rhubarb and cardamom mousse. A pleasant walking trail leads to Svínafellsjökull from behind the building.
The petrol station opposite Hótel Skaftafell has a shop selling hot dogs, and a summer canteen serving traditional Icelandic food such as plokkfiskur (fish stew).
Öræfajökull & Hvannadalshnúkur
Iceland’s highest mountain, Hvannadalshnúkur (2119m), pokes out from the ice cap Öræfajökull, an offshoot of Vatnajökull. This lofty peak is actually the northwestern edge of an immense 5km-wide crater – the biggest active volcano in Europe after Mt Etna. It erupted in 1362, firing out the largest amount of tephra in Iceland’s recorded history: nearby glaciers are liberally spattered with bits of compressed yellow ash from the explosion. The region was utterly devastated – hence its name, Öræfi (Wasteland).
The best access for climbing Hvanna-dalshnúkur is from Sandfellsheiði, above the abandoned farm Sandfell, about 12km southeast of Skaftafell. Climbers should be well versed in glacier travel, and, although most guided expeditions manage the trip in a very long and taxing day (see below), independent climbers should carry enough supplies and gear for several days. The best time for climbing the mountain is April or May, before the ice bridges melt.
TOURS
The Icelandic Mountain Guides ( Reykjavík office 587 9999, Skaftafell 894 2959; www.mountainguide.is) run guided 10- to 15-hour ascents of Hvannadalshnúkur. The trip costs Ikr19,900 per person (minimum of two people), including transport and use of equipment. If you’re looking for a challenge, this is one of the best deals in Iceland. Trips run on request between April and mid-September. Book in advance, and allow yourself extra days in case the weather causes a cancellation.
There’s a briefing the evening before, and the trip begins at 5am the next day. Transport is provided up to the snow line, where you transfer to snowshoes for the ascent to the 1820m-high crater rim. After walking across the crater, you make the final summit ascent of almost 300m with crampons and an ice axe. You need to bring warm clothing and your own food and water.
Note that each year the ice bridges that make the hike possible are melting earlier and faster, so the season for climbing the mountain is becoming shorter and shorter. Although trips are theoretically possible until mid-September, in 2009 there were prohibitive restrictions on the trips by late July: prices rose to Ikr39,800 per person (as one guide per four people was deemed necessary), and only experienced mountaineers were allowed on the trips.
Glacier Guides ( 659 7000; www.glacierguides.is; Jun-Aug) offer the same trip for the same price. Local company Öræfaferðir ( 894 0894; www.oraefaferdir.is) also leads climbs up the mountain (generally in early spring, as they focus on birdwatching trips in late spring and summer). The owner holds the world record for ascents of Hvannadalshnúkur.
Hof & Bær
At Hof farm is a picturesque wood-and-peat church, built on the foundations of a previous 14th-century building, and a Viking temple dedicated to Þór. It was reconstructed in 1883 and now sits pleasantly in a thicket of birch and ash with flowers growing on the grassy roof.
About 6km further east, Bær is a farm that was buried by ash in the 1362 Öræfi eruption. The walls are surprisingly intact, but visitors are asked not to trample all over them since the ruins are both