Iceland walks

Before arriving at the foot of Iceland'sthird highest waterfall, at 118 metres, you will see solidified lava along the entire route, resembling beautiful reddish organ pipes at right angles.

This walk to Bruarfoss waterfall will take you first past Hlauptungufoss and Midfoss, along a well-defined, easy-to-follow and mainly flat path. The blue colour of the Bruar river is unique.

North of the town of Hveragarði (hot garden in Icelandic), 45 km east of Reykjavik, this hike climbs the Reykjadalur valley (valley of smoke), encountering bubbling holes, steam jets, fumaroles, hot water streams, waterfalls, multi-coloured terrain and rocks, until you reach a spot where you can relax and bathe in the warm waters of the Reykjadalsá.

Landmannalaugar, a volcanic landscape par excellence, offers spectacular scenery with rugged relief. Close to active volcanoes, you can hear and smell the earth breathing, exhaling sulphurous fumes from its fumaroles, bubbling waters and hot mud. It's a complete change of scenery in a rugged, unspoilt and daring natural environment with an explosion of incredible colours. The Laugavegur trek, linking the base of Landmannalaugar to that of Thorsmork (Þórsmörk), is reputed to be the most beautiful in Iceland. It can be done in several stages, as there are plenty of campsites and refuges along the way.

This second stage, although less colourful, offers vast views that express the solitude of these wild places. From Lake Alftaven, the trail passes a wide ford, crosses green plateaus and plains with sparse vegetation where a few flocks of sheep graze, crosses a desert of ash bordered by volcanoes, and overlooks the vertiginous canyon of the Markarfljot River with its dazzling colours. After the Emstrur base and crossing the wide and impressive ford of the River Þröngá, you reach Thorsmork, the end point of this crossing.

Thisfirst stage crosses sublime, unforgettable landscapes in flamboyant shades of yellow, red, orange and black, contrasting with the fluorescent green of the mosses and the white of the snowfields. Numerous sulphurous fumaroles give this scene a feeling of the beginning of the world; the spectacle is breathtaking.

The hikes from the Kerlingarfjöll base are superb, among the most beautiful in Iceland. The terrain is rugged, the colours incredible, with the brightest and most fluorescent tones contrasting with the darkest and the white snowfields. Fumaroles and bubbling streams, giving off sulphurous smells, inhabit these unforgettable places that one imagines as the early days of the earth.

Explore one of the few settlements in this north-western part of Iceland, in the middle of nowhere, and get a glimpse of the local economy.

Neighbouring the famous Eyjafjallajökull, which paralysed air traffic in 2010, the Solheimajökull glacier is the southernmost tongue of the great Mýrdalsjökull glacier, which caps a "monster", the much-feared Katla volcano. It flows southwards and gives rise to a torrent that empties into the Atlantic Ocean. This short walk is accessible to all and makes for a pleasant diversion during a visit to Iceland's south coast.