The Kaldadalsvegur (, ) is the shortest of the highland tracks traversing the

Highlands of Iceland The Highland (Icelandic language, Icelandic: ''Hálendið)'' or The Central Highland is an area that comprises much of the interior land of Iceland. The Highland is situated above and is mostly uninhabitable. The soil is primarily volcanic as ...

, therefore the nickname "highlands for beginners" . Its name derives from the valley it crosses: ''

Kaldidalur The Kaldadalsvegur (, ) is the shortest of the highland tracks traversing the Highlands of Iceland, therefore the nickname "highlands for beginners" . Its name derives from the valley it crosses: '':is:Kaldidalur, Kaldidalur'' means "cold dale/ ...

'' means "cold dale/valley". Sometimes the Kaldadalsvegur is referred to as simply "the Kaldidalur". The route begins a bit to the north of

Þingvellir Þingvellir (, anglicised as ThingvellirThe spelling ''Pingvellir'' is sometimes seen, although the letter "p" is unrelated to the letter thorn (letter), "þ" (thorn), which is pronounced as "th".) was the site of the Althing, Alþing, the annual ...

and to the west of the

volcano A volcano is commonly defined as a vent or fissure in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most oft ...

Skjaldbreiður Skjaldbreiður (, "broad shield") is an Icelandic lava shield formed in a huge and quite protracted eruption series from about roughly 9,500 years ago. The extensive lava fields which were produced by this eruption, flowed southwards, and f ...

, which really comes up to its name (meaning ''broad shield''). The track continues between the glaciers

Þórisjökull Þórisjökull or Thórisjökull (, Icelandic for "Thóris's glacier") is a small glacier and volcano in western-central Iceland, to the southwest of Langjökull glacier. It has an elevation of . Kaldidalur lies in the foreground. Position þ ...

and Ok and leads up to the north. To the east of Reykholt it comes near the ''Reykholtsdalur'' to

Húsafell Húsafell () is a sprawling farm and church estate and the former site of a rectory. It is the innermost farm in Borgarfjörður in the west county of Iceland, not far from Reykholt and Reykholtsdalur. Húsafell farm now serves as a hub of ser ...

. Then it continues up to ''

Hvammstangi Hvammstangi () is an Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically lin ...

'' at the ''

Miðfjörður Miðfjörður () is a small fjord as well as a conjoined valley in the northwest of Iceland.Íslandshandbókin. Náttúra, saga of sérkenni. Reykjavík 1989, pp.329-330 The fjord has a length of 14 km and a width of up to 3,5 km. The ...

''. Signed as route 550 (formerly F550), the track is 40 kilometers long, and has no unbridged river crossings. (The Kaldadalsvegur is ''not'' an F road, and a four-wheel-drive vehicle is ''not'' legally required to traverse it, however many car rental companies forbid the use of their two-wheel-drive vehicles on this interior route.) The other well known highland routes are

Kjölur Kjölur () is a plateau in the highlands of Iceland, roughly defined as the area between the Langjökull and Hofsjökull glaciers. It lies at an elevation of about 600–700 metres. Geography At the northern end of the Kjölur road, near the h ...

and

Sprengisandur Sprengisandur () is a highland plateau in Iceland, defined roughly as the area between the Hofsjökull and Vatnajökull glaciers. History and etymology Like Kjölur and Kaldidalur, Sprengisandur is an ancient pass - during the time of the I ...

External links

Photos

{{Interior routes of Iceland Roads in Iceland Highlands of Iceland Borgarbyggð