in Landmannalaugar, Iceland

Iceland has nearly one hundred beautiful and surreal nature reserves, along with the smarts to keep them pristine and wild.

Located in Iceland's rugged and tough-to-navigate highlands, Landmannalaugar is part of the Fjallabak Nature Reserve, 
home of one of the top hiking trails on the planet 

 and a geological cornucopia of exciting and photogenic volcanic phenomena

including steamy geothermal riverlets ~ 

a great place to relax & enjoy a Viking, after a long day hiking

or anytime, really.

It's known for its moody weather, 

but our days and nights there were chilly and clear. 

And the few little sprinkles we did have late one evening had us racing out of the mess tent, abandoning Kjartan's tales of Icelandic history, and our Viking beers, 

for a glimpse of an astonishing double rainbow 

just as the sun was settling down behind the mountains. 

(This is the sunset, sans rainbows, 
as I was frustratingly out of battery power at the time.)

Base camp is flat with lots of rocks, (useful for anchoring tents)

as well as all sorts of other modern conveniences.

But the hiking ..

and the views

are more than worth it.