The route along which the pictures shown here were taken starts at Keflavík International Airport and leads first to the Haukaladur Valley. The way there takes us through Þingvellir National Park. Located in the middle of the rift valley, the tectonic rift is particularly well illustrated here by a multitude of crevices.

Haukaladur is a high-temperature thermal area in the north of Lake Laugarvatn. In 1935, Sigurdur Jónass donated the area to the Icelandic people with the aim of turning it into a national park. Here we encounter the Great Geysir – the namesake of all geysers – and Strokkur. While the Great Geysir erupts only very rarely, Strokkur is very active and shoots a 20 to 30 metre high column of boiling water into the sky at intervals of about 10 minutes.

From here, continue north along Route 35 – Kjalvegur – towards Akureyri. Today's ford-free Kjalvegur connects the southwest of Iceland with the northwest, crossing the highlands. With a length of about 170 kilometres, it is the second longest highland road on the island. Kjalvegur starts in the south near Gulfoss Waterfall, a waterfall on the Hvítá river with two steps, one 11 metres and the other 21 metres high. It then skirts Langjökull and Hofsjökull and crosses the Hvítá near the glacial lake Hvítárvatn.

The highest point of Kjalvegur is the Fjórdungsalda watershed, at an altitude of 673 metres above sea level, before a branch leads off to the Hveravellir geothermal area. Hveravellir is located approximately halfway between Reykjavík and Akureyri. The high-temperature area features numerous typical phenomena such as solfataras and fumaroles, but sinter terraces can also be found here. A hut offers a place to rest, there is a thermal bath, and numerous hiking trails allow visitors to explore the area. In the northern section from Hveravellir, the Kjalvegur then passes the Blöndulón reservoir before ending near the local hydroelectric power station close to the ring road. This finally takes us to Akureyri.

Hveravellier high temperature geothermal field

With just under 20,000 inhabitants, Akureyri is Iceland's fourth largest city. Akureyri's origins date back to the year 1000. Today, the port city located at the southern end of Eyjafjörður and only 50 kilometres south of the Arctic Circle is the largest population and service centre outside the capital region. With its location on the ring road, its own airport and its port with a cruise terminal, the city is well connected in terms of transport. Starting from Akureyri, we explore Eyjafjörður. With a length of approximately 70 kilometres, it is the longest fjord in Iceland. It lies between the Tröllaskagi peninsula in the west and Flateyjarskagi in the east, with mountains over 1,000 metres high rising on both sides of the fjord. The slopes drop steeply to the water, especially at the entrance to the fjord. This can be seen particularly well in the village of Grenivík, for example.

The journey continues from Akureyri, following the ring road via Goðafoss, Mývatn and Hverir to Djúpivogur in eastern Iceland. At Goðafoss, the waters of the Skjálfandafljót river plunge approximately 11 metres over a width of around 160 metres.

Mývatn is Iceland's fourth largest lake. It covers an area of approximately 37 square kilometres, but with an average depth of around 2 metres, it is extremely shallow. Mývatn is part of the Krafla volcanic system, which is still active today. The Námafjall volcano, which is still active, is crossed here by the Námaskarð Pass. There are geothermal areas both east and west of the pass. We head for Hverir, a high-temperature area located east of Námafjall with numerous hot springs and mud pots.

From Námafjall, we head east across the uninhabited Mývatnsöræfi wasteland, which covers a large part of the 4,400 square kilometre Ódáðahraun lava field, until we reach Jökulsá á Fjöllum and finally Egilsstaðir. With 2,500 inhabitants, Egilsstaðir is the largest town in eastern Iceland. The last part of the route leads from here in a south-easterly direction, past Lagarfljót and following the Axará over the Öxi Pass. The descent to Djúpivogur, which is particularly steep in the last section, offers spectacular views of the Berufjörður fjord and the Folaldafoss waterfall below.

Djúpivogur is an old village with a few hundred inhabitants. Fishing and tourism dominate, and a striking feature is the trading house Langabúð.

The next stage follows the Ring Road to Kirkjubæjarklaustur and the Katla Geopark. On the way, we stop at Lækjavík and Hvalnes, two black beaches typical of Iceland. At Hvalnes, the black pebble beach, several kilometres long, juts out from the coast as a narrow spit.

Afterwards, Vatnajökull and its numerous outlet glaciers, i.e. the glacier tongues flowing from the ice sheet, accompany us on our way on the right-hand side. One of these outlet glaciers is Breiðamerkurjökull, whose approximately 18 square kilometre glacial lake Jökulsárlón is a real highlight of this part of the trip.

With a depth of 284 metres, Jökulsárlón is Iceland's deepest lake. It is best known for the icebergs floating on it, which have calved from Breiðamerkurjökull, and the seals that live among them. The diverse colours of the ice are impressive, ranging from the blue of highly compacted glacier ice to black, due to impurities and deposits such as volcanic ash. The so-called Diamond Beach is also located in the immediate vicinity. Here, the remains of washed-up drift ice form a striking contrast to the black basalt beach, giving the beach its name.

We then make another stop at Kvíárjökull to catch a glimpse of the glacier tongue. At Svínafellsjökull, we visit another glacier tongue of Vatnajökull, which flows downhill from Hvannadalshnúkur, Iceland's highest mountain.

Kirkjubæjarklaustur, a small village with around 200 inhabitants, is one of the starting points for exploring the Katla Geopark. It is located on the glacial river Skaftá. Numerous natural monuments and sights can be found nearby. These include basalt column formations as well as steep-walled canyons and extensive lava fields.

Near Grundarfjörður lies Kirkjufell, a 460-metre-high peak that has been roughly carved by glaciers and protrudes from the glacial ice as a nunatak. The mountain is one of Iceland's most photographed landmarks.

From here, we drive via Ólafsvík to Djúpalónssandur, with a stop at the Saxhóll crater. Here, a staircase leads up to the approximately 40-metre-high volcanic crater, where views of the caldera, the vast lava fields, the sea and Snæfellsjökull open up.

Djúpalónssandur was once home to a fishing village, but today it lies abandoned and littered with the wreckage of a fishing trawler that crashed here in 1948. Separated from the sea, we find two small freshwater lagoons here, Djúpulón and Svörtulón. We continue to Arnarstapi, a small fishing village. Here we find a basalt coastline that has been eroded by the sea and is characterised by caves and rock arches. Near Arnarstapi, the 570 begins, perhaps the most beautiful highland road in Iceland. The 19-kilometre road crosses the Snæfellsness Peninsula between Arnarstapi in the south and Ólafsvík in the north, passing close to Snæfellsjökull. Finally, we visit Stykkishólmur, the largest town on the peninsula with 1,300 inhabitants, which lives mainly from fishing.

The last leg of our journey takes us from Grundarfjörður back to Keflavík, but on the way we cross the Reykjanes Peninsula, where the Mid-Atlantic Ridge rises to the Earth's surface. The landscape of Reykjanes is characterised by vast lava fields. Due to the numerous geothermal areas and many volcanically active zones, the name ‘Smoky Point’ seems quite apt.

From Krýsuvík, our route continues to Svartsengi. Here, the geothermal power station of the same name pumps deep water heated to around 250°C to the surface for electricity generation and district heating. The wastewater is discharged into the surrounding Illahraun lava field, which dates back to an eruption in 1226. The resulting saltwater lake, which covers an area of approximately 5,000 square metres, is now used as a thermal bath. This bath is widely known as Bláa Lónið – ‘Blue Lagoon’. Bathing in the 37°C to 42°C warm, mineral-rich thermal water is known to alleviate various skin diseases. The turquoise blue colour of the water is due to diatoms.

With Gunnuhver, we then visit the high-temperature area of the associated Reykjanes volcanic system, not far from the Reykjanes lighthouse. Gunnuhver is Iceland's largest mud spring area. Since the 2000s, volcanic activity has also been increasing noticeably here, with surface soil temperatures reaching around 300°C.

We then visit the Álfagjá fissure, located slightly to the north, which marks the Reykjanes Rift and is part of the boundary between the Eurasian and North American continental plates. The pedestrian bridge Brú milli Heimsálfa – Bridge between the Continents – spans the approximately 20-meter-wide and 7-meter-deep rift, allowing a symbolic crossing from the “old” to the “new” world. We visit the fishing town of Sandgerði before returning to Keflavík Airport, where our journey comes to an end.