Iceland - Cycling the Golden Triangle

by Ivan Viehoff

Hállgrimskirkja in Reykjavík

Many places have Golden Triangles. They are golden because they separate foreigners from their gold. Unless you have found yourself in Thailand, the triangle bit is a coach tour with three stops, big crowds and a Blackpool of souvenirs. These are the places the rough-stuffer often avoids. But in Iceland it's different. The points on the triangle are not the usual cities, cathedrals and castles, but wonders of nature. So close to Reykjavík, it is a temptation we cannot resist, even if the quieter and wilder ways further from the city are our true reason for being here.

Þingvellir

Þingvellir is an oasis, a national park barely half a day's ride from Reykjavík. Set in the most extraordinary landscape is the historic site of the Alþing, an annual parliament begun in 930, making Iceland the only European democracy of its time. The land is fissured everywhere you look. Little fissures a few inches wide, and great fissures like Almannagjá wide enough for a road or a river. I have never seen land so obviously ripped apart by the forces of nature. Water is everywhere, filling the fissures, the river Oxará, and the great lake Þingvallavatn. Pink-footed geese waddle by. There are many lovely walks, or you can cycle the rough road round the lake, which will take the best part of a day.

You will need to bring a tent and food, or else a fat wallet. There are many beautiful, free camping areas. The youth hostel is no longer available. I had booked, and when I arrived could see no building save the elegant and pricey Valhöll hotel. They coyly admitted they were temporarily moonlighting as a youth hostel. I was discreetly directed to a room awaiting redecoration, but even their dingiest room was a palace to me, and I slept between sheets for the only time in my holiday. The petrol station has hot snacks but no groceries. The coach tourist invasion is in mid-afternoon.

Geysir

Who can resist the sight of Strokkurgeysir shooting its boiling water 20m into the air 20 times an hour? I cannot, and many fat coach tourists cannot either. The latter are mostly there around 11am, and will soon be in the café if it is chilly. 50km of mainly rough roads bring us here, including a scenic climb over the desert upland of Kálfstindar, and views over lake Laugarvatn to the great volcano Hekla.

10km uphill, on luxury tarmac, is the grand waterfall Gullfoss. For many people this is the great sight of the region, and those many people tend to visit around noon, lunching in the café. But I think you need sunshine to appreciate it. If it's dull, consolate yourself with the thought that geysirs are much rarer than waterfalls. Gullfoss is the starting point of the traverse of the central desert by the westerly Kjölur rough-stuff route, which Dick Phillips reckons is more interesting than the better known Sprengisandur. A couple of French mountain bikers told me it took them seven days to get across.

Food, camping and hotels are available at Flúdir, 20km away by gravel road. If you have food, there is a summer youth hostel at Reykholt, but book ahead. Access to a large, warm and sulphurous outdoor swimming pool is included in the overnight fee. Lonely Planet says there is a geysir, but I couldn't find it - I think it's now a little power station. Don't depend on the shop they mention either.

Fljótsdalur

The coach parties have gone to Hveragerdi, with its geothermally induced bananas. I will take you instead to a wonderful landscape. You can understand why I choose this for the apex of my triangle when you read Josie Dew's The Wind in my Wheels:

The most memorable [youth hostel in Iceland] was the one at Fljótsdalur, an enchantingly traditional turf-roofed cottage lying at the end of an almost unridable track which wound its way deep into a desolate valley encased by a glistening glacier.

Gígjökull,descending from Eyjafjallajökull, the glistening glacier

It is about 100km from Reykholt, somwhat less from Flúdir, but not a hard ride as all but the first 10km and last 8km are tarmac. Coming from Reykholt, you pass Skálholt, the historic religious centre of Iceland, with its unassuming cathedral. On the road are fine views of Hekla when the clouds lift. Hella and Hvolsvöllur are towns with the usual services - I got a crack in my frame welded up at Hvolsvöllur. After some rather tedious farmland, the point becomes clear as you head inland again, and the great dome of the Eyjafjallajökull glacial volcano comes into view, quite magnificent on a sunny evening. The final rough-stuff is a poor gravel road, but Josie's "unridable" was more to do with strong winds she encountered. Do book ahead, as it fills up from time to time, and meals can be arranged.

Travellers' rest in Fljótsdalur

Now you have climbed the last little hill to the hostel, I will leave you to enjoy the views, the library, and the little garden with its outdoor shower.

Book Reference

Iceland, Greenland and the Faroe Islands - A travel survival kit, Deanna Swaney, Lonely Planet, 3rd ed 1997.

Maps

Icelandic Survey 1:250,000 Sheets 3 and 6 (or any general touring map of Iceland).

This version updated with corrections 6 September 1997