Vonarskarð

背景

歴史と背景

Vonarskarð has long been one of the more difficult interior passages in Iceland. Vatnajökull National Park notes a tradition that the settler Gnúpa-Bárður may have travelled through the pass in the Settlement Age, although the first recorded journey through the area is from around 1839. The remoteness that shaped those journeys remains today: there is still no road into the pass, and modern visitors reach it on foot.

Vonarskarð is a protected wilderness destination in the Nýidalur and Tungnaáröræfi area of Vatnajökull National Park. Its combination of watershed, high-temperature geothermal activity, high-altitude vegetation and surrounding glaciers gives the pass exceptional conservation and geological value. The geothermal activity is most visible around Hverahlíð beneath Eggja and in Hverabotn. Access is entirely on foot through a network of challenging marked routes. N6 makes a long out-and-back journey from Nýidalur; N7 approaches from Svarthöfði and Kolufell; N9 begins at Gjóstuklif/Gjósta. The terrain is remote, weather can change quickly and there is no dependable phone or TETRA coverage, so visitors must be self-sufficient and prepared to navigate.