Grand Fjallabak Expedition Including Mælifell.
The full private Fjallabak expedition: from Reykjavík through Fljótshlíð, Emstrur, Hvanngil and the black sands around Mælifell, then onward through another Highland road to complete a much bigger loop back toward South Iceland.
This is the full expedition — Mælifell is one extraordinary part of it.
We leave Reykjavík, enter the Highlands through Fljótshlíð and follow the rough southern Fjallabak routes toward Emstrur, Hvanngil and Mælifellssandur. Mælifell is the centrepiece, but the concept is the full loop: continue through the eastern Fjallabak roads and leave the Highlands again toward South Iceland when conditions allow.
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.
We can leave Mælifell by another road instead of simply turning around.
When river and road conditions allow, the day becomes a loop through Öldufellsleið. That keeps the return interesting before we reconnect with the South Coast.
Make the Grand Fjallabak Expedition a two-day journey.
The 450,000 ISK day tour is intentionally ambitious. With two days we can keep Mælifell, add more of Fjallabak, use morning and evening light, spend longer walking and photographing, and choose an overnight stop that fits the kind of Highland experience you want.
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
- Öldufellsleið / eastern exit when river and road conditions make the loop sensible
- Route adapted to weather, river levels, light and your interests
- Larger private vehicles available on request
Grand Fjallabak Expedition including 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 you want the biggest Fjallabak day, choose the Grand Expedition.
Tell me your date, group size and whether you want the full 450,000 ISK one-day expedition or to slow the entire route down over two days for 850,000 ISK plus accommodation.