Travelers who are planning a hiking trip in Iceland need not worry about growing crowds in the Central Highlands. While the number of foreign travelers who visit Iceland continues to grow, fewer people are trekking into Iceland's interior. Park rangers in the Central Highlands have noticed a significant drop in the number of hikers on major trails and in the number of overnight stays at cabins. The drop since 2017 is 15-20%. Some cabins have had 40% fewer visitors this year.
Fewer hikers than any time in 3-4 years
Páll Guðmundsson, the manager of Ferðafélag Íslands, The Iceland Touring Association, which operates 16 cabins in remote wilderness areas including the Central Highlands, told the local newspaper Morgunblaðið that the drop in overnight stays at the cabins in Landmannalaugar, the most popular destination in the Central Highlands, had dropped by 15% since 2017.
The number of hikers on Laugavegurinn trail, which runs from Þórsmörk nature reserve to Landmannalaugar has dropped by 15-20%, leading to a significant drop in overnight stays in cabins along the trail. In 2018 the cabins were all fully booked most of the summer. This year the cabins were only booked to 80% of capacity. Páll told Morgunblaðið that Laugavegurinn trail hasn't seen fewer hikers in 3-4 years.
Some areas have seen a 40% drop
Other wilderness areas have seen an even more dramatic drop. Lónsöræfi region, which covers most of the highlands east of Vatnajökull glacier, have seen 30-40% fewer visitors than last summer, and in Kverkfjöll mountains the drop is 20-30%. Fewer people visited Kverkfjöll mountains this year than they did 25 years ago: In 1993 the Kverkfjöll cabin was visited by 4,600 people, while just 2,000 visited this year, a drop of 60%.
The main reason for the drop in the number of hikers in the Central Highlands is the changing composition of foreign visitors to Iceland, Páll argues. While the number of visitors from Europe, especially Central Europe has dropped by 16-23%, the number of American travelers has increased. US travelers are less likely than Germans and Italians to take long hiking treks.
Travelers who are planning a hiking trip in Iceland need not worry about growing crowds in the Central Highlands. While the number of foreign travelers who visit Iceland continues to grow, fewer people are trekking into Iceland's interior. Park rangers in the Central Highlands have noticed a significant drop in the number of hikers on major trails and in the number of overnight stays at cabins. The drop since 2017 is 15-20%. Some cabins have had 40% fewer visitors this year.
Fewer hikers than any time in 3-4 years
Páll Guðmundsson, the manager of Ferðafélag Íslands, The Iceland Touring Association, which operates 16 cabins in remote wilderness areas including the Central Highlands, told the local newspaper Morgunblaðið that the drop in overnight stays at the cabins in Landmannalaugar, the most popular destination in the Central Highlands, had dropped by 15% since 2017.
The number of hikers on Laugavegurinn trail, which runs from Þórsmörk nature reserve to Landmannalaugar has dropped by 15-20%, leading to a significant drop in overnight stays in cabins along the trail. In 2018 the cabins were all fully booked most of the summer. This year the cabins were only booked to 80% of capacity. Páll told Morgunblaðið that Laugavegurinn trail hasn't seen fewer hikers in 3-4 years.
Some areas have seen a 40% drop
Other wilderness areas have seen an even more dramatic drop. Lónsöræfi region, which covers most of the highlands east of Vatnajökull glacier, have seen 30-40% fewer visitors than last summer, and in Kverkfjöll mountains the drop is 20-30%. Fewer people visited Kverkfjöll mountains this year than they did 25 years ago: In 1993 the Kverkfjöll cabin was visited by 4,600 people, while just 2,000 visited this year, a drop of 60%.
The main reason for the drop in the number of hikers in the Central Highlands is the changing composition of foreign visitors to Iceland, Páll argues. While the number of visitors from Europe, especially Central Europe has dropped by 16-23%, the number of American travelers has increased. US travelers are less likely than Germans and Italians to take long hiking treks.
