Iceland Kerlingarfjoll Highland Hike

Overview

Kerlingarfjöll is the Highlands' best-kept secret hiding in plain sight off the Kjölur route: a rhyolite massif in ochre, rust and rose, steaming from every fold. From the Ásgarður base the boardwalk-and-ridge circuit into Hveradalir — the 'valley of hot springs' — drops you among fumaroles roaring like kettles, boiling mud pots and snowfields that survive all summer beside near-boiling streams, with the Hofsjökull and Langjökull ice caps closing the horizon. Longer days loop the massif or climb Snækollur, the 1,477m high point, for a view across the entire interior. Access is the filter: the F35 and the final F347 spur demand a genuine 4WD and open only from roughly late June to early September, and Highland weather can serve sleet in August — the wind is permanent, so pack like it is Scotland at altitude. Book the Ásgarður huts or campsite ahead; there is nothing else for 50km. Five days based there costs about £900 with a shared hire vehicle, hut nights and fuel — a fraction of the crowded south coast, for emptier and stranger country.

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Prefilled for 1 July 2027 — the next best-season window. Search on partner sites — opens in a new tab.