Highland Base is for the adventurous, particularly those who don’t yet know how adventurous they are. Certainly, it’s a revelation that arrives swiftly in winter, when the intrepid journey up into Iceland’s Central Highlands requires guests be escorted to the base in a modified superjeep accompanied by a professional driver. Come summer, however, you are free to make your own way in.
The surrounding Kerlingarfjöll mountain range feels utterly remote. The area was largely unvisited until the 1930s; it was the naturalist Guðmundur Einarsson who initiated mountaineering classes here and built the first A-frame cabin in 1937, blazing a trail for the rest. Today, you’ll find a grand tapestry of glaciers, streams and valleys where the scenery changes seasonally, and sometimes even hourly.
The design-forward Highland Base includes a 28-room hotel and six private lodges, as well as huts and a campsite. The mattresses and natural-fibre bedding engulf you as soon as you flop down, while the calm colours of the rooms allow your attention to settle on the surrounding landscapes instead, framed by large windows.
A nifty underground tunnel connects the rooms with the convivial restaurant and the Highland Baths, heated using geothermal energy sourced from the Hveradalir geothermal field nearby. This trio of warming pools bubbles away against a backdrop of the surrounding mountains, and there’s a cold plunge pool for the brave. I couldn’t believe the panoramic views I was witnessing from the comfort of a steaming natural bath. Above the restaurant, which serves hearty delicacies like Arctic char, is a cosy lounge where guests congregate on an evening to enjoy storytelling sessions – the locals are captivating narrators, keen to share tales of Icelandic folklore and legends.
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Highland Base includes a 28-room hotel and six private lodges (Highland Base) -
Snowmobiling is a popular activity for guests who visit Highland Base (Highland Base)
From snowmobiling and snowshoeing in the winter to e-biking in the summer and year-round hiking, Highland Base keeps you on your toes. Just when I thought that I might like to spend all day relaxing in the Highland Baths, yet another active pursuit was suggested; one that coincided with my curiosity to see more of the mountains. Luckily, the Highland Baths and sauna are always there, waiting to soothe over-exerted muscles at the end of the day.
But it’s the setting, within a protected nature reserve, that is arguably the star here. And by exploring in the least invasive way possible, we honour the naturalist Icelanders who call this ever-evolving island home. If there is adventure along the way then so much the better.
More information: Doubles around £325 per night in winter; £413 per night in summer. This includes breakfast, admission to the Highland Base baths, stargazing, storytelling and the ‘activity of the day’; highlandbase.is
