Rivers to cross: six days in the Icelandic highlands

The bus leaves the ring road and the tarmac ends. For three hours it bumps along a gravel track into a landscape with no trees, no fences and almost no colour that you would call normal. Pink and orange mountains, black sand, green moss that looks lit from inside. This is where our Iceland trek begins.

The first days

The early stages climb through hot springs and steaming vents. The ground is warm under your boots in places, and the air smells faintly of eggs. At the end of the first day we soaked in a natural hot pool beside the hut, which is the right way to finish any walk.

River crossings

Glacier rivers cross the route in several places, and there are no bridges. We cross them together, in sandals, arms linked, facing upstream. The water is shockingly cold for about ten seconds and then you are laughing on the other side.

• Unbuckle your hip belt before crossing
• Cross at the widest point, where the water is shallowest
• Cross early in the day, before the glaciers melt in the afternoon sun

Weather

Icelandic weather changes by the hour, and we planned for all of it. One afternoon brought hail, sunshine and a rainbow in the space of twenty minutes. Good waterproofs and a warm layer are not optional here.

The last morning

We walked out through birch woods to the valley of the gods, where a river splits around green islands below three glaciers. After six days without a tree, the woods felt like a garden.