A SUPER JEEP ADVENTURE (FULL ITINERARY BELOW)

 

Inspired local traditions we invite you to leave city life behind and join us on our three day Landmannalaugar tour. An experience which will give you a totally new dimension on winter traveling where guests and hosts blend into one team with everyone taking an active part in inevitable adventures.

 

When Icelanders want to treat themselves they climb on board a Super Jeep and head for Landmannalaugar during winter time. On a journey of unforeseen adventures and constant challenges, they take on the unpredictable highlands and face new experiences during every tour. There are no disappointments, no failures. Everything that happens is part of the journey. It is all about embracing the moment. Nothing beats the beauty of starlit skies perfected by the dance of the Northern Lights.

 

** This tour includes the Golden Circle on the last day **

 

With local spirit we invite you to leave city life behind and join us on our three day Landmannalaugar tour, an experience that gives you a totally new dimension  winter travel, a tour in which guests and staff blend into a team, taking an active part in all the upcoming adventures.

We leave the asphalt behind and head away into the wilderness. With no street lamps to guide us and no traffic coming our way, pure natural wilderness greets us with its endless beauty and the weather conditions dictate the traveling time.

Equipped with large Super Jeeps on huge tyres we take control of every situation we are faced with at any given moment. Once on the snow we let the air out of the giant tyres until the Jeep floats over the snow like a boat on water, tackling every obstacle in our way. Our experienced highland team is equipped to face the challenge of rough conditions and to find solutions on the spot to get us to our destination. The journey in itself is a great adventure.

When we arrive at our destination we will discover a large mountain lodge, heated by geothermal energy and the full warmth of a raw highland welcome to greet us. There is no electricity or running water inside the lodge – yet we have endless sources of the purest drinking water nature can provide only footsteps away from the lodge. The house is lit by warm lighting generated by solar energy. The jeeps will supply us with 220 voltage electricity to charge our electrical devices.

Once there we savour the solitude, embrace the weather conditions of each moment, hike in the colourful rhyolite mountains formed by centuries of volcanic activities in the area, play around on the snowmobiles when there are good snow conditions, take the Jeep out for a spin, relax and unwind. We cook our meals in the large and beautiful kitchen, enjoy candle lit evenings inside the lodge and starlight on the outside.

When we are lucky the Northern Lights welcome us and dance with the stars turning the sky into a breathtaking spectacle. With no man-made lighting around, the total darkness creates a wonderfully soothing and peaceful environment.

Just a few refreshing steps away from the mountain lodge is the real gem. A pool which was created when many hot and cold springs in the area combined - providing an ideal bathing place with temperatures of around 36-40 degrees centigrade all year around.

Enjoying total solitude or each other’s company on a cold winter´s night when the skies and weather conditions grace us with stars and northern lights completes the day and gives an entirely new meaning to becoming at one with mother nature.

 

Day 1

We pick you up in the morning at your hotel and drive towards the valley of Thjorsardalur where we get a view to the volcano, Hekla, which we get closer to on our way into the highlands. Hekla was believed to be the gateway to hell in the middle ages. This cone shaped volcano is made up of a series of ridges and it is one of Iceland's most famous and active volcanoes which last erupted in the year 2000.

We drive along by the River Thjorsa, the longest river in the country, and into the valley of Thjorsardalur with theHjalparfoss Waterfall - the Helping Falls, where the horses used to graze in the last lush area before heading across the sandy desert of Sprengisandur in olden times.

We have a lunch break in Hrauneyjar Highland Center, the last outpost before we enter the real highlands at Fjallabak Nature Reserve. We drive through vast lava fields covered by snow, pass Lake Hnausapollur and Lake Ljotipollur and have a stop at Lake Frostastadavatn. Here the surrounding mountains and strange rock formations are reflected in the mirror like surface of the lake when the weather is calm.

Finally, we get to Landmannalaugar which will most likely be snow covered. But the steep rhyolite mountains and rough lava fields are visible, showing the geothermal activity of the hot springs and naturally heated rivers criss-crossing the land at every turn.

After the drive you will be able to relax in the geothermally heated pool whist your driver-guide prepares dinner from premium Icelandic ingredients. In the evening the Northern Lights might show up if the sky is clear. If they do not show up it is still spectacular to view the stars shining extra bright so far away from man-made light pollution.

The lodge is heated and kept warm all year around and is specially inviting for visitors on cold winter days. It is a building on two floors; downstairs there is a spacious sleeping area with bunk beds, a large and spacious kitchen, a cozy sitting area and the mud room. Upstairs there are three separate sleeping areas. The lodge is heated with geothermal heat and the kitchen is equipped with gas. The lavatories are in a small building located next to the main building.

 

Day 2

If you begin your day with bathing in the pool before breakfast this may start you wondering about the geothermal heat in the area. The mountains encircling the area are mostly formed from sour magma which was cooked in the magna chamber of a volcano located by the glacier of Torfajokull south of Landmannalaugar. The Torfajokull area is the country´s second largest high temperature geothermal area. The sour magma and the geothermal heat are located within a huge chamber which is the largest of its kind in Iceland.

During breakfast we plan the day according to snow conditions, weather and your own preferences. Some examples are: a snowmobile tour in the area, a hike to the numerous interesting locations nearby, a ride with your guide in the modified Super Jeep to nearby lakes and interesting locations. Or even - if you are in the mood, just relaxing in the hot pool outside and enjoying the peace.

In the evening we prepare a delicious barbecue dinner, enjoy life in the lodge, embrace the solitude and of course, the hot pool outside is open around the clock.

 

Day 3

After breakfast we leave the peacefulness of Landmannalaugar and head for the dam at Hrauneyjar where we stop for lunch. From there we drive through Thjorsardalur on to the Golden Circle route which takes us first to the majestic Gullfoss Falls (the "Golden Falls"). This waterfall is in the glacial river Hvita which flows from the lake Hvitarvatn and glacier Langjokull which is the second biggest glacier in Iceland. Gullfoss is 32 metres high but it plunges in two stages (11 m and 21 m).

Next we come to the geothermal field of Geysir with hundreds of hot springs of all types, most with boiling water – and a few of them are geysers. Geysir, one of the most famous hot springs in the world, sometimes known as The Great Geysir, was the first geyser described in a printed source and the first known to modern Europeans. The English word geyser (a spouting hot spring) derives from the Icelandic “Geysir”.

We then head on to Thingvellir, via Laugarvatn village. Sometimes called the heart of Iceland, Thingvellir was declared a National Park in 1930. A law was passed designating Thingvellir as "a protected national shrine for all Icelanders, the perpetual property of the Icelandic nation under the preservation of parliament, never to be sold or mortgaged".

Weather circumstances, snow and road conditions all play a big role in our tour so the travelling time can vary greatly. Time of arrival in Reykjavik is estimated to be in the early evening at dinner time.