Kjölur

The Kjölur is a highland road in Iceland. It is the second longest of the roads through the Highlands of Iceland. It takes about 5 hours to traverse by car. It begins in the south of Iceland near Haukadalur and behind the Gullfoss waterfall, and it ends in the north near "Blönduós". The road traverses the interior between two glaciers, Langjökull and Hofsjökull.

Like Sprengisandur highland road, the track was probably known since the first times of Icelandic settlement and is mentioned in the Icelandic sagas. To the west of the actual road there is the old "Kjalvegur", which is still in use for trekking and horse-riding. Piles of stones mark the old route through the highland desert. After some people had perished in a snowstorm by the end of the 18th century, the Kjölur road was forgotten for about 100 years. It was rediscovered in the 19th century.

Today, tourists use the track frequently, since the route does not require the use of a four-wheel-drive vehicle and no major rivers have to be forded.

At the northern end of the Kjölur road, near the headwaters of the Blanda river, the hot springs of "Hveravellir" provide a warm oasis. In the 18th century, the Icelandic outlaw Fjalla-Eyvindur used the Hveravellir hot springs as a settlement. One of the hot spots in this area is still used for bathing.

Not far from Hveravellir, the Kerlingarfjöll, a beautiful volcanic mountain range, are situated to the north-east of the Kjölur road.

The other well-known highland routes are Kaldidalur and Sprengisandur.

External links

* [http://isafold.de/langhof97/img_hveravellir2.htm Photos of Hveravellir]
* [http://volcano.und.edu/vwdocs/volc_images/img_hveravellir.html]
* [http://www2.fht-esslingen.de/~kerler/island/tn/hveravellir2.jpg.html]
* [http://www.vegagerdin.is/english/road-conditions-and-weather/the-entire-country/island1e.html Current condition of Icelandic roads]