Destination: – Iceland

Duration: – 11 days (24th July – 3rd August 2015)

Group size: – 12 max.

Cost: – £2200 + International airfare

I have become increasingly enamoured by Iceland and all that it has to offer the trekker seeking something different. It is a very understated country with stunning vistas around every corner, mesmerising waterfalls, active volcanoes and thermal vents, icefields and glaciers, beaches and bays and very few people. My experiences to date have been in the more populous south-west but this trip used Rekyavik as a stepping stone to the remote, stunningly beautiful, north-east.

Flying from Rekyavik to Akureyi we headed for Lake Myvatn, situated right on the Mid Atlantic Ridge, and thus a landscape like no other in Iceland. It is a landscape of spluttering mud pots, weird and wonderful lava flows, steaming fumaroles and volcanic craters more akin to science fiction rather than actual fact. Our visit concluded with a soak in the mineral rich Myvatn Nature Baths.

Moving on, we next visited Husavik, northern Iceland’s centre for whale watching and with eleven species feeding in the area during the summer months we were guaranteed some spectacular sightings.

Before we started our trek, we had just one more spectacular sight to see, the waterfall at Dettifoss. At 44m these are not Iceland’s highest falls but the volume of water falling over the edge (the greatest volume of any waterfall in Europe) they are truly spectacular.

Sightseeing completed, we now embarked on a stunning and varied trek, taking us on trails of the deserted inlets, climbing summits with memorable views, crossing streams, rivers and lingering snowfields and enjoying the thoroughly remote environment that makes up this part of Iceland. Being summer we were blessed with almost continual daylight.

Accommodation varied from hotels in the larger settlements, to communal huts with the  opportunity to camp if we desired.