When Dick Phillips first began leading walking tours to the region of Torfajökull in southern Iceland in the early 1960s, there was no name for the area. “Torfajökull is actually the name of a small ice cap,” Dick began. “I just started calling the larger region Torfajökull, as I realized that my guests would not know the difference, and some name would be better than none at all. In the early days, we’d go for two weeks in the summer without seeing anyone else. The only people who visited the area were the shepherds who brought their sheep to graze in the spring and retrieved them in the fall. It’s not quite as isolated now, though it’s still very remote country with a great variety of terrain.”
Iceland is nothing if not dramatic—a land of fire and ice, of stark, treeless landscapes and a rich mythical folklore that’s still quite alive among Icelanders. The fire comes from the island’s pronounced geothermal activities, which provide a considerable amount of heat and hot water for Iceland’s 300,000-plus residents, and from the island’s more than two dozen active volcanoes. The ice comes from glaciers, which have carved many fjords along the 3,000-mile coastline and constitute 11 percent of the nation’s landmass. Much of Iceland was formed (and is forming) from volcanic flows, which explains some of its rugged topography. The birch trees that once covered one third of the island were cut to make way for sheep grazing, and for the most part have not been replaced. (Icelanders have two sayings about trees. One goes, “There is a naked woman behind every tree in Iceland.” The other is, “If you ever get lost in the Icelandic National Forest, all you have to do is stand up!”) As for myths and sagas, it seems that every landmark has a supernatural as well as a natural explanation. Most of the population lives on or near the coastline, which is warmed by the North Atlantic Drift Current, making it far more habitable than Greenland, 180 miles to the west.
The Torfajökull wilderness encapsulates many of Iceland’s most unique features. There are mountains, fells, glaciers, wild rivers, and, of course, abundant geothermal activity in the shape of geysers and hot springs. “Torfajökull is the most powerful thermal region in the country, and still untapped,” Dick explained. “Around the ice cap (which peaks at 3,280 feet) I’ve counted seventeen big steam vents all visible from one point. The noise the steam vents generate is impressive, and you find yourself walking through thick clouds of steam. When you’re away from the steam vents, the views from the ice cap can span the whole of Iceland’s south and central interior. On a clear day, you can take in nine separate ice caps.”
The two-week trek around Torfajökull favored by Dick is strenuous by most standards. While the rigors of high altitude are not an impasse, there are a number of rivers to cross, an average of eleven or twelve miles of walking a day and no support vehicles. Your accommodations will be a series of huts, some built over the years by Dick and his associates. The huts will not be mistaken for the more opulent offerings available on some trails in the Alps—some are made, in part, of turf and have dirt floors. A trek through Torfajökull is a dance between landscapes of sublime austerity—monochromatic lava fields framed by distant glaciers—and phenomena that border on the fantastical. “We move from a desertlike environment that’s covered in volcanic ash—tephra,” Dick continued. “There’s no vegetation at all. Soon the tephra gives way to thick moss, then the landscape returns to a stony desert, and eventually it begins greening up again. Toward the end of the trek, we’re in rolling, grass-covered hills. Along the way, there are mountains and plateaus of brilliantly hued rhyolite. Sometimes the rock is yellowish, sometimes green, sometimes orange. When the sun shines on it, it’s magnificent. People think that the color is an achievement of a chemist, not nature. There are also vast deposits of obsidian.” Other wonders you’ll come upon include the stupendous Markarfljót Gorge; Eldgja, the largest volcanic canyon in the world; and its magnificent double waterfall, Ófærufoss.
Despite Torfajökull’s ever-present geothermal activity, it would be a misconception to think that you can hike from hot spring to hot spring, having a relaxing bath every few hours. Yet several opportunities are presented in the course of your adventure. The first is at Strutslaug, a hot-spring oasis set among grassy hillsides near the end of your trek. There are several layover days here, giving you the chance to mix day hikes with natural-spa treatments. En route to the airport and your departure from Iceland, you may wish to partake of the Blue Lagoon, a man-made pool of mineral water that exists courtesy of the Svartsengi geothermal power plant. The water that fills the lagoon, pumped up from a mile below, is the off-flow from Svartsengi, and takes its otherworldly hue—somewhere between antifreeze and a slushie—from high levels of silica and sulfur. It’s surrounded by lava fields, and looks completely at home amid Iceland’s topography—it’s hard to believe it’s man-made!
DICK PHILLIPS’S love affair with Iceland began with his first visit, a month-long cycling tour in 1955. After his ninth visit, he set up a travel business in 1960 dedicated to Iceland, and has been organizing and leading walkers, cyclists, mountaineers, and kindred travelers ever since. In his more than fifty years devoted to Icelandic adventure, Dick opened the Fljótsdalur Youth Hostel, has discovered new and unused routes through the mountains, and has built a sterling reputation as a reliable and straight-dealing authority on what he calls “a land of challenge.”
► Getting There: Iceland Air (800-223-5500; www.icelandair.us) offers service from several U.S. cities to Reykjavik. From here, it’s eighty to one hundred miles by car to the beginning of your trek.
► Best Time to Visit: Despite its northern location, Iceland has a temperate climate and can be enjoyed year-round. Most hikes in the Torfajökull region are led from mid-May through August.
► Accommodations: Visitors will generally overnight in Reykjavik upon arrival and before departure. Lodging options are outlined at the Iceland Tourist Board Web site (www.icelandtouristboard.com).
► Guides/Outfitters: Dick Phillips (+44 1434 381 440; icelandick@nent.enta.net) organizes walking tours of the Torfajökull. Sherpa Expeditions (+44 20 8577 2717; www.sherpaexpeditions.com) also manages bookings.
A walk along the Amalfi Coast highlights the region’s colorful coastal villages, including Ravello.