Big things are afoot in Iceland. The country has steadily grown in recent years into one of the most charismatic outdoor destinations in Europe. The biggest outdoor attraction here is Skaftafell National Park, which is Europe’s largest. That record is set to get even more pronounced when it joins with neighbouring, stressfully-accented Jökulsárgljúfur  National Park to form one 15,000 square-kilometre megapark, which in its entireity will cover 40% of Iceland. Within the current borders of Skaftafell National Park lies a wilderness of wild rivers, scooped mountains and something called the Vatnajökull glacier, which is the world’s biggest icecap outside the poles at 3000 Billion tonnes and is therefore difficult to miss. Geographically, Iceland covers a little less than half the land area of the UK and is a juxtaposition of the very hot and the frigid, located as it is on the mid-Atlantic ridge, causing one of the world’s most spectacular volcanic lightshows. The Vatnajokull Icecap occupies almost the entire south-east of the island, with the country’s highest point – Hvannadalshnukur, at 2,110m – at its southern extremity. Pronounced ‘kwanna-dalsh-nyooker,’ the mountain is the highest point on the rim of a volcano, Oræfajökull, which erupts fairly frequently and very spectacularly, given the amount of water hearabouts to incinerate. The climb isn’t particularly taxing technically, but as you have to climb up a glacier there are many crevasse problems to overcome. Both normal routes start from the west, with the more technical Hryggjaleið route closed off from about mid-July, and the Sandfellsleið route open for much of the year. Starting from the Skaftafell National Park visitor centre off Highway 1, the walk up takes you through a high, weird wilderness of snow-encrusted, twisted horns of volcanic rock. As expected, the views from the top are dominated by ice and ocean, and utterly unique. There’s a great campsite at the bottom and facilites to hire a guide.

Elsewhere in the park, the volcanic Laki area offers many walking trails around (and through) one of Iceland’s most famous and dangerous features: the Laki fissure. The last significant eruption here was in 1783, which had Europe-wide consequences and killed about a quarter of Iceland, though fissures, vents and spatter cones throw out incendiary sheets of lava in local eruptions now and again. Walking in this area is tough, sharp and dusty, but well worth it as it is a very unique landscape of great natural interest: seeing the glaciers and the fissures in action hereabouts is a rare chance to see the Earth being re-worked before your very eyes. There are many other walks to volcanoes all over Iceland, but if you prefer something a little different, you could stick to the east of the island, which is home to some truly outstanding areas to walk, quite despite the . The Heradsfloi valley is a great wilderness of moorland which is one of Europe’s great blanks. Here you can trek to Door Mountain (1136m), which earns its name from the 200m gap that splits the crags of Dyfjoll towers. Also in the east is the area Icelandics call the ‘trails of the coastal inlets’ - a massive walking region between the fjords of Seydisfjordur and Borgarfjordur Viknaslodir, and there are many marked hiking trails and good infrastructure for walkers here. Another peak worth climbing is the Table Mountain-alike Herdubreid, which at 1677m high dominates the surrounding area, and is commonly referred to as the ‘queen of the Icelandic mountains’. Probably one of the most spectacular and interesting places on the eastern part of Iceland is the area around Borgarfjordu Eystri, a small village surrounded by bleak, mountainous landscapes and thickly-crafted myths, usually involving trolls and elves. You can also find an area in the east called The Woodlands, which offers great walking through pristine birch forests.

Elsewhere in Iceland, you can visit any of the three other national parks in the country. Jökulsárgljúfur National Park in the north, is worth a look because of its odd canyons and volcanic mountains, relics of a volcanic eruption directly underneath a river here. This mix of lava, gas and water caused powerful explosions, destroying the mountains around the river to leave only husks today. Snæfellsjökull National Park in west Iceland has as its centrepiece a huge 1,446m volcano made famous by Jules Verne in Journey to the Centre of the Earth, and has a glacier bunging its vent. Climbing the mountain is spellbinding. The park is easily accessible from Rekyavik.  Þingvellir National Park, in South Iceland, which aside from some interesting walking over volcanic erratics, has the cache of being an important historical area: weirdly, one of the oldest parliamentary institutions in the world was formed here in AD 930. Gullfoss is another fine area to walk, which is accessible by bus from Reykjavik. The centrepiece is a 32m waterfall which plunges into a canyon.