The unspoilt wilderness region of Lónsöræfi in southeast Iceland is a geological wonderland of extreme beauty. Its colourful rhyolite mountains are pure eye candy and the stillness of the environment a soul-soother.
Access to Lónsöræfi is not easy. There is no paved road leading to it. It takes days of arduous hiking or a difficult ride of 2.5 hours in a specially fitted superjeep to get there. We charted the latter. The drive first involves crossing a rough, rock-strewn glacial plain braided by glacial rivers. What comes next is not for the faint of heart: a climb up several steep gradients with little margin for error. But the effort is richly rewarded as you can see in the photographs below, taken just over a week ago.
On the way to Lónsöræfi
5D Mark II, 24-105L
Colourful rocks in the glacial valley
5D Mark II, 24-105L
Fog in the glacial valley
5D Mark II, 24-105L
Rhyolite mountains of Lónsöræfi
5D Mark II, 24-105L
Lichen-covered rock
5D Mark II, 24-105L
Reindeer in Lónsöræfi
5D Mark II, 70-200L f/2.8 IS II
Wider view of reindeer on the steep mountain slope
5D Mark II, 70-200L f/2.8 IS II
