Kjölur Highland Crossing: Gullfoss to Akureyri (4×4, 2 Days)

The Kjölur route (F35) cuts straight across Iceland’s interior between two ice caps — Langjökull and Hofsjökull — linking the Golden Circle to the north coast. It is the “easier” of the great highland crossings: unlike Sprengisandur, its main rivers are now bridged, so there are usually no big fords. But it is still a rough, remote gravel road where rental terms require a 4×4, there is no fuel in the interior, and it opens only in the short summer. You drive on the right.

Day 1 — Gullfoss to Hveravellir (100 km)

Leave the Golden Circle at Gullfoss waterfall, where the tarmac ends and the gravel F35 climbs onto the highland plateau. Detour to the rhyolite peaks and steaming ground of Kerlingarfjöll if you have time, then reach Hveravellir, a geothermal oasis with a natural hot spring, a hut and a campsite — a magical place to overnight in the middle of nowhere.

Day 2 — Hveravellir to Akureyri (150 km)

Continue north across the plateau, descending to the Ring Road near Blönduós, then head east to Akureyri, the capital of the north, on its fjord. Fill up, eat well and soak in the town pool after two days in the wild.

Costs

Use the cost calculator to price fuel and nights for your exact dates. Budget a 4×4 rental (essential and required for F-roads), plenty of fuel — there is none in the interior, so fill up at Gullfoss/Reykjavík first — and a hut or campsite fee at Hveravellir. There are no tolls on Kjölur; the country’s one toll tunnel (Vaðlaheiði) is only if you drive on past Akureyri. This is a strictly seasonal route (roughly late June to early September) — check conditions on road.is before you set off.