4-Day Iceland Trek from Skaftafell with Skeiðarárjökull Crossing
About This Tour
Embark on an epic journey from Skaftafell to Núpsstaðarskógar on an awe-inspiring 50 km trek through rugged landscapes and untamed wilderness. Cross one of Icel...
Duration: 4 Days · Tour type: Shared · Activity level: Strenuous · Accommodation: Not included · Transport: Included · Wheelchair access: No · City: Skaftafell · Languages: English, French, Icelandic, Spanish
Know before you go: You must have a reasonable level of fitness. You must have good mountain fitness, which means you can wear a backpack weighing around 10-15 kilos (20-30 lbs) and hike for 6-8 hours a day. We don't need to sprint; we just need to be slow and steady with regular breaks. If you want to prepare, you could go for some hikes of around that length and try bringing along your backpack with some weight in it. Any general exercise will also help.
About Skaftafell
Skaftafell
Explore the list of top ranked local tour guides in Skaftafell. Get tour activities offered by tour companies and independent travel guides in Skaftafell.
What's Included
- A qualified guide
- Transport to the start of the hike from our base and back to our base at the end
- Tents, stoves, and fuel
- Plenty of quality food
- All technical, glacier, and travel gear
- All scrambling/climbing gear
Not Included
- Sleeping bag
- Sleeping bag liner
- Backpack (recommended 50 litres)
- All personal clothing and gear
- All items on the gear list
- Lunches
Itinerary
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1Day 01
Skaftafell to Skeiðarárjökull Plateau
Our mission starts at the car park in Skaftafell. From here, you will be driven for 30 minutes on the highway, and then we will drive off-road for another good half hour before stopping at the beginning of our walk. The hike starts with a bang as we travel next to a stunning meandering river, which leads us to a small protected climb in the cliffs. The climb is most definitely worth it when you see the view from the top. We will then continue up the breathtaking Núpsstaðaskógar valley until we are high on the plateau above Skeiðarárjökull. We will camp here for the night.
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2Day 02
Crossing the Mighty Skeiðarárjökull
Today, we will cross the mighty Skeiðarárjökull, one of Iceland's largest outlet glaciers. On the glacier, you will navigate large crevasses and watch as water pours into moulins (big holes) that bore deep inside this sleeping giant. The hike can be long, but in the end, we will reach arguably Iceland's finest camping spot. This is an amazing place to spend the night.
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3Day 03
Ascend the Skaftafell Range
As if things couldn't get any better - well, they do. Today, we ascend the Skaftafell range, surrounded by an incredible rainbow of colours created by the rhyolite in the rock, with knife-edge ridges and calving glaciers far below us. We will summit the highest mountain around, which offers fine panoramic views. A few hundred metres below the summit, we can camp in a cosy little area next to a small waterfall.
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4Day 04
Descend Through Birch Forest to Skaftafell
Today, we descend into one of the oldest birch forests in Iceland. Once down, we will take a more relaxed walk back into Skaftafell's civilisation. Here, we will say our goodbyes.
Meeting Point
Meeting point: Pict expeditions - Feimna rjúpan, Öræfi, Iceland · Tour start: 785 Skaftafell, Iceland — Tour ends at the same location as the start point.
