After we leave Þingvellir, we drive towards the Hengill volcano. We want to hike in this area, our first real walk in Iceland. It's a bit of a search for the right parking area, but once we arrive the hiking can begin.
The first section we follow the blue route in Hengill. A bit lower is another parking area. This is the official start of the trail. We cross the fence and walk across the plain to the mountain. Here starts the long climb up. The trail is good, but there's a lot of wind. There's virtually no mountain between the sea and Hengill, so the wind comes directly from the ocean. And because there's a lot of lava gravel in the trail, we get the necessary sand in our eyes. Along the way we see the most beautiful creations of weathered lava rock. On the crossing of the blue and the black trail we decide to take the black trail. The volcano Hengill is covered in clouds, so climbing all the way up doesn't make much sense.
The black trail leads us towards the Nesjavellir power plant. Continuously climbing and descending, looking for the trail we continue. On the map it looks like we're going to encounter the green trail, but the mountains and gorges tell us otherwise. We feel the trail is leading us too far east, and the green trail is visible, but a few 100 meters lower. So we stay with the black trail. When we climb another fence we arrive at a borehole for the power plant. There seems to be a road towards another parking area, so we decide to follow it. While following the road we eventually meet the green trail and follow it towards this parking area. The green trail continues towards our parking area, but it means another climb. We use the tarmac to get to our car.
After a good 11 km. we have made a beautiful hike in the area of Hengill in Iceland.
Distance: 11.7km.
Height difference: 270 m. At the end of the hike another 100 meters.
Nesjavellir
Nesjavellir is the biggest geothermal power plant in Iceland. Because a lot of heat is close to the earth’s surface, heat is being pumped from the ground. The energy can be used in 2 ways. The pumped up heat can be used directly for warming houses. Indirectly the pumped up heat can used for generating electricity. At Nesjavellir both are used. The pumped up heat is used for hot water and heating in Reykjavík and surroundings.
When we got close to the borehole, we were surprised about the violence with which the heat is won. The sound is very terrifying. From great depths you hear water vapor rising, which reminds you of some primordial sound.
Other big geothermal power plants in Iceland are:
Krafla Power-Plant, Myvatn, Svartsengi Power-Plant, Kevlavik