Before coming to Iceland I had researched the various hiking opportunities but decided to focus on the Laugavegur Trek. This 53 kilometre hike between Lanndmannalauger and Thorsmork.
To start I spent a couple days at Landmannalauger. I had booked a seat on the bus service from Reykjavik. This three hour drive took us from the coastal areas inland, past fields, and then turning onto gravel roads through the moon-like volcanic plains of central Iceland. Arriving just after noon I decided to do some hiking around Landmannalauger. I started with a shorter 9.02K loop up Suournamur, turning back at Vondugil, and finishing through the volcanic plain of Namskivsl.
I stayed at the cabins that can be booked through http://www.fi.is. the Ferdafelag Islands or FI website is the main place to book cabins on the Landmannalauger Trek. They were comfortable shared spaces with the door room, where I slept, being a long room with two sleeping areas where you claim your space next to the other twenty others in the upper rooms.
My only full day around Landmannalauger I did a 14.3K hike north to go around Norounamur, a small dormant volcanic hill, and the old lake inside another volcanic mound called Ljotipollur. The grey day and gusting winds caused some challenges and made taking breaks unpleasant, but the unique scenery kept driving me on.
This ended up being a relaxing introduction to Icelandic hiking. Definitely the next day on the Laugavegur Trek trail proved to be much more challenging.
BorealHiker 