American tourists don't always have the best reputation abroad, but it can be amusing to see how other countries view US culture.
21.07.2023 - 07:51 / roughguides.com
In an adventure only for the bravest hikers, David Leffman tackles the rhyolite hills, black sand deserts and the icy glacier caps of the 55km Laugavegur trail from Landmannalaugar to Skógar.
Whiteout. Five hours into a five-day hike and I was already stuck in a blizzard. I could barely see my feet through the stinging wind-driven snow, let alone the next yellow post marking the route. I was below Hrafntinnusker, a boulder-strewn hilltop made of obsidian – black volcanic glass. And, somewhere over on the far side of the crest, probably less than 500m away, was the bunkhouse where I was planning to spend the night. I only hoped it wouldn't take another five hours to get there.
There are many reasons to tackle the Laugavegur trail. The 55km hike across Iceland's southern interior between natural hot springs and volcanic wasteland at Landmannalaugar and the beautiful highland valley of Þórsmörk. But the weather, which routinely drives foul, gale-force winds down the highland passes along the route, probably isn't one of them. The scenery was meant to be spectacular – rhyolite hills streaked in orange gravel, pale blue tarns, black sand deserts and the titanic, icy masses of glacier caps hovering over it all – but I had yet to see any of it.
Laugavegur, Iceland © Shutterstock
Progress on the trail was slow. Occasionally the flurries cleared for long enough to take a compass bearing on the next guide post. I then had to follow blindly along its line, trying to forget about travellers who had become lost and died in similar conditions on Iceland's interior tracks. But the Hrafntinnusker bunkhouse was reached at last. The next day the blizzard had blown itself out, leaving a metre of snow and clear views extending off the back of the plateau and down to brilliant green conical hills flanking Álftavatn (Swan Lake). From here there was a plain of volcanic sand to cross in unexpected sunshine, which was hot enough to strip down to a T-shirt. Near the Innri-Emstruá bridge, over a river swollen fearsomely with snow-melt, a herd of Icelandic horses were being driven to summer pasture, following a centuries-old routine. I spent the evening on a rocky ridge overlooking the Mýrdalsjökull ice cap to the south, enjoying the silence and the vast panorama of outlying glaciers spreading across the landscape below.
A day later and I was at the Þröngá, the deepest unbridged river so far, though fortunately only thigh-deep at the time. Sometimes you have to wait for the level to subside before attempting to cross. On the far bank was Þórsmörk, and a striking change of scenery. After the spartan, restricted palette of the last few days, I was overwhelmed by sudden lush splashes of colour, flowers and dense thickets of dwarf
American tourists don't always have the best reputation abroad, but it can be amusing to see how other countries view US culture.
Following is our regular summary of the latest travel news and best frequent traveler promotions reviewed during the past week.
Following is our regular summary of the latest travel news and best frequent traveler promotions reviewed during the past week.
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