Explore Iceland Highlands on a Hiking Tour from Egilsstadir

Egilsstadir is a town in east Iceland on the banks of the Lagarfljót river. It was established in 1947 as an effort by the surrounding rural districts recognizing it had become a regional service centre. The town, which is named after Egilsstaðir farm, is near the bridge over Lagarfljót where all the main roads of the region meet, as well as the main routes to the Eastern Region. Egilsstadir has grown to become the largest town of East Iceland and its main service, transportation, and administration centre. The town has an airport, college, and a hospital. The town grew quickly during the economic boom in the region from 2004 to 2008 associated with the building of the Kárahnjúkar Hydropower Plant and Alcoa's aluminium smelting plant in Reyðarfjörður.

Hafrahvammar is a vast canyon, north of Dimmugljúfur Canyon in East Iceland. Hafrahvammar is also known by the diminutive Hvammar. At Hvammar’s most southern point you can locate the cave Magnahellir. It is believed that shepherds from the ancient farmstead Brú resided in this cave. Since 2008, the canyon has been a popular hiking destination, but hiking through the area wasn’t possible before the damming of Kárahnjúkar.

Kárahnjúkar Hydropower Plant is a hydroelectric power plant in eastern Iceland. With the installed capacity of 690 megawatts, the plant is the largest power plant in Iceland. The project, named after the nearby Kárahnjúkar mountains, involves damming the rivers Jökulsá á Dal and Jökulsá í Fljótsdal with five dams, creating three reservoirs. The Kárahnjúkar Dam is the centrepiece of the five dams and the largest of its type in Europe, standing 193 metres tall with a length of 730 metres.

Laugavalladalur is a green oasis west of river Jökulsá á Dal, some 20 km. north of dam Káraghnjúkar. Close to the site of an abandoned farm, there is a geothermal stream, ideal for taking a bath and a shower in the warm waterfall where the stream runs into the valley's main river.