Private Einhyrningur, Emstrur & Mælifell The focused route into the black sands.
A focused private 4×4 journey from Reykjavík through Fljótshlíð, past Einhyrningur — “The Unicorn” — and Emstrur to Mælifell, the vivid green volcanic cone standing alone in the black sands behind Mýrdalsjökull.
Einhyrningur, Emstrur & Mælifell — without turning the day into the full Fjallabak loop.
This version is built around the western approach into the Highlands: Reykjavík → Fljótshlíð → Einhyrningur → Emstrur → Mælifell. We give the road, the black sands and Mælifell proper time, then return by the practical route unless you choose the longer loop below.
We begin in Fljótshlíð — and then the road changes character completely.
Fljótshlíð gives us a beautiful transition from farms and waterfalls into the empty country behind the mountains.
Fljótshlíð
Green farmland, views toward Eyjafjallajökull and the last settled landscape before we commit to the Highland road.
Gluggafoss
A waterfall stop before the day becomes rougher, darker and much more remote.
Einhyrningur is where the expedition starts to feel real.
Past Fljótshlíð we enter Emstruleið. The farms disappear, the road becomes rough, river crossings begin and the scale changes quickly.
Einhyrningur — the “Unicorn” mountain — is one of the first unmistakable landmarks. From here we continue through the country around Hattfell and the Emstrur huts toward Fjallabaksleið syðri.
The approach is half the reason to come. Mælifell should never feel like a pin we drove hours to photograph and immediately left again.
Mountain huts, black tracks and a landscape built for stopping whenever the light says stop.
The order changes with conditions, but these are the places that turn the drive to Mælifell into the experience itself.
Emstrur backcountry
Tracks through open volcanic country with changing views toward glaciers, ridges and the black interior. This is where a flexible private day has a real advantage.
Emstrur huts
A small reminder that the famous Laugavegur trail crosses the same country. In summer, 4×4 access follows the Highland road network into this remote area.
Hattfell country
Sharp green mountains rising directly from dark volcanic ground. The contrast starts preparing you for what Mælifell will look like later in the day.
Hvanngil
A remote hut area surrounded by lava, rivers and exposed Highland landscape. Several unbridged crossings make conditions part of the decision-making.
We drive through country hikers normally experience over several days.
The Laugavegur trail links Landmannalaugar and Þórsmörk through Álftavatn, Hvanngil and Emstrur. Around Hvanngil the route reaches the exposed black sands of Mælifellssandur.
That gives the tour a different sense of scale: we are not looking at the Highlands from the edge. We are moving through the interior.
Álftavatn, Hvanngil and the road out onto Mælifellssandur.
Depending on the chosen line through Fjallabak, Álftavatn can be part of the day or saved for the two-day journey. Either way, this is the transition into the black desert around Mælifell.
Álftavatn
A calm blue lake surrounded by mossy mountains — particularly good when we have two days instead of one.
Across Mælifellssandur
Black sand, braided water, glaciers and almost no shelter. Then the green mountain appears ahead of us.
Mælifell looks almost impossible.
A steep green volcanic cone rising alone from the enormous black sands north of Mýrdalsjökull. The contrast is so clean that Mælifell can look less like a mountain and more like something placed there deliberately.
This is where I want time — not a five-minute photo stop. If the weather is good, we can eat, walk, photograph and simply stay long enough for the scale to register.
For content creators and photographers, changing light matters more than a rigid timetable.
Come back by a different Fjallabak road.
If the rivers, roads and daylight cooperate, we can avoid simply retracing the same approach. Instead, we continue through another line of Fjallabak and reconnect with South Iceland by a different road.
It adds driving and makes the day bigger, but it also gives the journey a satisfying expedition feeling: one road in, another road out.
Turn it into a two-day Highland journey.
Combine Mælifell with Landmannalaugar and slow the whole experience down. Day 1 follows the focused route through Einhyrningur and Emstrur to Mælifell; Day 2 continues through the Fjallabak landscapes toward Álftavatn and Landmannalaugar before returning to Reykjavík.
Fljótshlíð → Emstrur → Mælifell
Take the same western approach, but slower: Gluggafoss, Einhyrningur, Emstrur, Hvanngil and Mælifellssandur. Spend proper time at Mælifell and stay in the Highland region around Hvanngil / Álftavatn when accommodation and route conditions fit.
Álftavatn → Landmannalaugar → Reykjavík
Turn north through Fjallabak and make the second day about the landscapes toward Landmannalaugar — more stops, more photography, a walk or geothermal bathing, then return to Reykjavík by the northern Highland route.
Same Highlands. Different reason to go.
This is naturally one of our strongest Adventure and Content Creator routes, but the private format can also slow the journey down toward walking, stories or simply being somewhere remote.
Included in the private day tour
- Private Icelandic guide throughout the day
- Toyota Land Cruiser / capable 4×4 for the usual 3–4 guest setup
- Pickup and drop-off at your Reykjavík accommodation
- Fuel and normal parking costs
- Fljótshlíð, F261 / Emstruleið, Emstrur, Hvanngil and Mælifell when conditions allow
- Focused return after Mælifell; a different-road loop is available as the 320,000 ISK extended option when conditions allow
- Route adapted to weather, river levels, light and your interests
- Larger private vehicles available on request
Private Einhyrningur, Emstrur & Mælifell
On a route like this, the guide is part of the vehicle.
I’m Bijo — an Icelandic guide based in Reykjavík. I have been guiding since 2015. On Fjallabak, flexibility is practical: roads, rivers, weather and visibility can change the best plan. I use the conditions on the day to decide where we spend time, what we cross and when a different road gives us the better journey.
If Mælifell is the place you really want to reach, this is the focused way to do it.
Tell me your date and group size, then choose the scale: the focused Mælifell day, the longer different-road loop, or two days combining Mælifell with Landmannalaugar.