Fjallabak

The nature reserve at Fjallabak in the southern highlands of Iceland is one of the country's most remarkable and beloved protected area. It is characterized by unusual geology, as a big part of it is covered by rhyolite, a silica-rich volcanic rock, that covers only 2% of Iceland's area, but is the signature rock here. Rhyolite is commonly brown-to-orange, but can also be grey or bluish and even greenish, depending on the mineral content and later "cooking" by geothermal heat. There are hot springs peppered over the highlands, contrasting with the barren ground, where substantial fields of snow and a few minor glaciers hold their ground in the summer. The result is riot of colours and contrasts, a true wilderness where life is rare, but still shows up in unexpected places, like lime green moss around hot springs or glacial melt streams. The area was protected in 1979 and has an area of 446 square kilometers. Iceland's best known hiking route, Laugavegurinn, starts at the hot springs at Landmannalaugar and runs south from there, the first part being within the limits of the Fjallabak reserve.