The Icelandic Highland: One Place, One Word
- Einar Páll Svavarsson
- Apr 27
- 4 min read
One Highland, not Highlands
If you read about the interior of Iceland in English, you'll often see it called "the Highlands." In Icelandic, though, we call it Hálendið, singular. There has always been one Highland, and the word appears that way in our literary tradition all the way back to the settlement era.
The reason matters more than the grammar. The Icelandic Highland is not a collection of separate ranges or regions, the way the Scottish Highlands are. It is one continuous interior geologically connected, ecologically unified, and culturally understood as a single place. The singular form reflects what the Highland actually is. The plural quietly turns it into something it isn't.
The English-language convention of saying "Highlands" most likely came in by analogy from Scotland and has since been reinforced by travel writing and search-driven content online. It's an understandable habit, but it's worth letting go of, because "Highland" carries the right idea of the place.this error.
Understanding the Highland through Icelandic eyes
Guðmundur Páll Ólafsson (1941–2012) was an Icelandic natural scientist, teacher, writer, photographer, and conservationist. Among his many works on Iceland and Icelandic nature, his book Hálendið í náttúru Íslands (The Highland in Icelandic Nature) is a monumental achievement — part study, part guidebook, part love letter, written specifically to introduce the Highland to future generations. He never wrote about "the Highlands." He wrote about the Highland, and his book is one of the best places to begin if you want to understand the place the way Icelanders do.
The same singular usage runs through everything else: the Iceland Road Guide, decades of Icelandic newspapers and magazines, and the names of long-established places like the Highland Center at Hrauneyjar and the Highland Base at Kerlingarfjöll. None of these were chosen casually.
What the Highland is
The Highland covers around 42,000 km² — roughly 40% of Iceland. It is uninhabited, mostly 350 to 400 meters above sea level, and shaped by extremes. The highest point, Öræfajökull, rises to 2,110 meters (around 7,000 feet), making it Iceland's tallest mountain.
It also has some of the most fascinating geology on the planet, where ice and fire sit beside each other in everyday view. Within the Highland you'll find glaciers of every shape and size, spectacular mountains, canyons, lava fields, geothermal pools, active geothermal areas, rivers, waterfalls, lakes, and active volcanoes.
The land is sensitive and impossible to cultivate. The seasons swing between extremes, the soil is fragile, and the weather can change quickly. Visiting takes preparation — research, study, and often local guidance.
A short summer
For most of the year, the Highland sits under thick snow. Roads, trails, vegetation, and lava all disappear under it for months. Only in summer — really only a few short weeks — does the Highland reveal itself.
When it does, it's unlike anywhere else. Vast stretches of black sand and dark lava give way to neon green moss, pink and purple rhyolite mountains, blue lakes, and turquoise rivers. Mighty muddy glacial rivers flood toward the horizon, and the landscape shifts dramatically over short distances. It is a place of extremes and contrasts, with a kind of variation you won't find anywhere else on the planet.
Visiting the Highland
Because the Highland is so large, it helps to choose a few areas in advance rather than try to see all of it. Some places have become more popular thanks to easier access and especially distinctive landscapes — among them Landmannalaugar, Sigöldugljúfur, Lakagígar, Hveradalir, Hveravellir, Þórsmörk, and Eldgjá.
The roads to these places generally open in late June and close in the middle of September. Most are F-roads, which means river crossings — and river crossings are serious business that require a proper 4×4 and the right preparation. Hiking is another excellent way to experience the Highland. The 54 km Laugavegur trail from Landmannalaugar to Þórsmörk is the most famous, and the Fimmvörðuháls trail from Þórsmörk to Skógafoss waterfall is another classic.
A place once feared
For most of Iceland's history after settlement, people rarely entered the Highland. There was a long-held belief that outlaws lived hidden in oases between the mountains, prospering quietly out of sight. These stories filled folklore for centuries. A few routes were used in summer to travel between regions — Kjalvegur and Sprengisandur to cross between north and south, and a route south of Fjallabak, north of Mýrdalsjökull, to cross between east and west while avoiding the strongest rivers. Otherwise, the interior was left mostly to itself.
Sensitivity and conservation
It sounds like a paradox, but the harsh, rocky landscape is also extremely sensitive and fragile. In that respect it is a little like Icelanders themselves: tough on the surface, sensitive underneath.
The basic rules are simple. Drive only on marked tracks, in a vehicle suited to the terrain. Hike on marked trails wherever possible. Follow the regulations. Driving off-road outside marked tracks is a serious offense in Iceland, with real legal consequences and real damage to the land.
A practical note for visitors: a vehicle that isn't fit for the Highland can put you in danger and ruin the trip. Getting stuck in a river or in mud with a rental car can cost more than the rest of your holiday combined. If you want to visit in winter or outside the open season, contact a professional tour company that specializes in Highland travel — it's the right way to do it.
The Highland rewards visitors who treat it with care. It is one place, one continuous wilderness, and there is nothing else like it.
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