Highland Base Kerlingarfjöll

Avevamo una bella camera anche se troppo calda che non potevamo controllare. Ma una notte il soggiorno è rovinato quando un gruppo di americani, alcuni dei quali indossavano maschere, sono scesi nella sala al piano superiore e nel ristorante scherzando sul fatto di bere alcolici per uccidere i germi e uno promettendo di respirare dall'altra parte quando si toglieva la maschera per mangiare. Abbiamo evacuato entrambe le aree quando abbiamo sentito la loro conversazione ma eravamo già esposti da un po' e abbiamo saltato la colazione. Ma ora, dopo 4 giorni, stamattina sono risultato positivo al Covid per la prima volta e non sto molto bene. Grazie gruppo egoista di americani: voi sapete chi siete

Highland Base is a special place, and extremely magical in March when you have some winter days and some not so winter days. Highly recommend the guided snowshoe hikes, they are an extra cost but so worth it! Our guide, Ruben, created an experience we will never forget, starting in the fog and ending with gorgeous views of the light shining on the mountains and a finishing with a climb down a valley that is a waterfall in the summer. Definitely go for a snowmobile ride for a different (and also incredibly fun) experience of the terrain. The base is in a beautiful location, quite remote, and few people besides your fellow travellers. There is no light pollutionand if the sky is clear, a wonderful place to see the northern lights. Accomodations are lovely, every room has big windows to see the landscape and the lodge has pillows, blankets and cushions for lounging. The restaurant serves a great breakfast and lovely meals. Staff is knowledgeable, friendly, and is there to help you have the experience you want, from outdoor adventures to cozy afternoons and the ride in the superjeep to get to the Base is quite the experience!

This luxury hotel is nothing short of extraordinary and I’m sure it took quite a feat of modern-day engineering to construct it, given its location in the center of Iceland, in an otherwise uninhabited region known as the Highlands. It’s very difficult, and at times impossible to reach in the middle of the winter, when we visited. The journey there and back is an almost unparalleled adventure that we rated right up there with an ice cave and glacier hike later on our trip, and the beauty of the region is unparalleled. The company that built the hotel is the same one that owns the Blue Lagoon complex on the Reykjanes Peninsula, and even though it’s so remote, the accommodations and food are on the same par. The staff, a hearty bunch that we were told live and work onsite in 2-week shifts, are phenomenal and treated us like family. We enjoyed the naturally heated lagoon every bit as much as the Blue Lagoon even though it’s not as large, nor milky blue; especially in the -24 Celsius/-11 Fahrenheit temperatures. Yes, it really does get that cold in the Highlands! The hotel teamed up with one of the premier adventure companies in the region; Southcoast Adventure to transport guests to and fro in the middle of the winter as well as provide some of the activities that are offered, such as snowmobiling. Our driver/guide was Stefan, a rugged Icelander with a very dry sense of humor. My wife and I were among 11 guests that he was charged with transporting that first day. It had started snowing the night before and the wind caused the snow to accumulate in the gullies on the F road to the hotel. Even though we were in a very large super jeep, the going soon became tough and the Director and some other staff from the hotel met us half way to make tracks for our much heavier vehicle and in many cases, pull us out when we became stuck. We thoroughly enjoyed the entire experience and at no time did we feel in danger, however that cannot be said for the other 9 passengers. They obviously did not read up on what they signed up for, as the website clearly stated the journey would take between 2.5 and 6 hours. Ultimately, to our great dismay, the decision was made to abandon the attempt and turn back. They put us all up at the Edition that night; Reykjavik’s only 5-star hotel. The whole failed journey from Basecamp Skjól to halfway to Highland Base and then to the Edition took about 10 hours. They gave us all the choice of staying at the Edition for the following night or trying again the next day. We were the only two that opted to try again, so basically it was a private transport, and as I stated above, it was SO worth it! The day turned out to be beautiful, not a cloud in the sky and the sunset, which occurred about 3 hours into our journey was spectacular, and then the Northern Lights appeared in the sky when we arrived! The second attempt from Basecamp Skjól to Highland Base took 3 hours 50 minutes, and the return trip, on an equally beautiful