Nature's Art at Vesturdalur, Northern Iceland

For travelers to northern Iceland, whether as part of the Ring Road or otherwise, Jökulsárgljúfur Canyon should be part of your itinerary. Formerly a national park on its own, it now falls under Vatnajökull National Park.

If you had planned to visit Dettifoss or Ásbyrgi canyon, then you're essentially visiting Jökulsárgljúfur already. Basically, Ásbyrgi marks the northern while Dettifoss marks the southern end of Jökulsárgljúfur Canyon. However, what I found the most interesting is in the middle - Vesturdalur.

Vesturdalur is prime hiking area, with weaving trails leading to many lava rock formations all around. In particular, Hljóðaklettar (Echo Rocks) and Rauðhólar (Red Hills) trails can be easily done from the carpark in a 2-3 hour loop. The basalt rock (formed by rapidly cooling lava) formations at Hljóðaklettar is the highlight for me. You may have seen the basalt columns in Vik, or the many lava fields all around Iceland, but nothing quite like this. Here, the basalt rock lined horizontally (hence columns is not the right word eh), and even at bizarre angles. Parts of the rock formations are also being cut off yielding eye-catching honeycomb patterns! It's mind-boggling how rapidly cooling lava can produce such "art pieces"! There are also lava caves formed by these basalt formations.

Rauðhólar is a crater row which provides a wonderful panoramic view of the canyon, and itself offers some colorful touch to the landscapes. It is easily done together with the Hljóðaklettar trail. For those who have more time and energy, there is a popular 2-day trek that goes from north (Ásbyrgi) to south (Dettifoss). Otherwise, there are parking lots on all 3 sections of the Jökulsárgljúfur Canyon.

Colorful Rauðhólar

If you are using public transport, there are summer buses going to all these places from Akureyri or Mývatn but do check the schedules carefully at http://www.sba.is/

Check Hljóðaklettar out !

Erta Ale & The Danakil Depression

I have visited only a couple of volcanoes up-close (mainly in Indonesia), and none of it with any visible lava activity. So I was pretty excited when I finally came face-to-face with a lava lake in the crater of a volcano!

There are not many volcanoes out there with an active lava lake, and Erta Ale in northern Ethiopia is one of them. However, reaching it is an endeavour not to be taken lightly. Erta Ale lies in a region known as the Danakil Depression - a geographical depression and one of the lowest places/land in the world (-125m). It is also one of the hottest places in the world with temperatures reportedly soaring above 50 degrees Celsius, and with almost no rain year-round. Needless to say, this harsh and inhospitable land poses a logistic challenge to anyone who wants to go there.

Afar nomads in the harsh environment

Drought-stricken land

In order to visit the volcano, permits, military escorts and local politics add to the complexity. The Afar region, as it is also known, with its proximity to Eritnea and Djibouti, is pretty lawless and so a permit and four military personnel are required for a visit. Two local policemen were also deemed necessary for company, and of course, a special local Afar guide. And then it's hours of bumpy and dusty jeep ride in 40-ish degree or more temperatures (we went in Oct). While our jeeps have air-conditioning, oftentimes our driver had to switch it off intermittently for fear of engine overheat and/or to conserve power to maneuver over harsh terrain etc.

Finally, our jeep could only bring us to a El Dom, a village "base-camp" of sorts, close to Erta Ale itself. Led by the Afar guide and the militia, a 3-4 hour hike in darkness over jagged rugged volcanic terrain would then bring us up to near the crater to see the lava lake. The hike should only be attempted after the sun set, as otherwise, the heat would probably suck our bodies dry!

But brave through all of the above, and you would be rewarded with one of the most surreal and mesmerizing nature displays on earth....!

Heading towards the glowing crater mouth

Lava Burst

Photographing the lava lake!

Flowing Inferno

Pardon the poor timelapse video, which was done using an old GoPro2

The hardship is not over yet! A short nap in some ramshackle huts close to the crater allowed us some rest and before sunrise, we had to head back to El Dom. This time though, the brightening sky made the going easier. Otherwise, we certainly wouldn't want to be caught in the heat when the sun rose too high!

One of our soldier guide resting on the volcanic terrain

If it's not evident already, visiting Erta Ale is certainly quite costly. Most trips start from the city of Mekele, and typically would include another highlight of the Danakil Depression - the sulphur springs and salt mines of Dallol which I would cover in the next blog post. So, watch out for it!

Cueva Galaxia Cristal, Bolivia

Salar de Uyuni is arguably Bolivia's top tourist attraction, and many people go on a muti-day circuit tour of the salt flats, taking in the spectacular Altiplano landscapes, the surreal lagoons, and the beautiful flamingoes.  But one of the lesser visited attraction in the circuit is Cristal Galaxy Cave, and I feel it would be a shame to miss it!

Strange petrified stone formations overlooking the salt desert

Visiting it would typically add an additional day to your standard circuit itinerary, but on the same site is Cementerio de los Chullpas, a sacred burial cave cemetery. Skulls and simple artifacts are still visible, but unless your guide fills you in on the stories and myths surrounding the place, there is little other information on it. However, it is the cave next door, the Cueva Galaxia Cristal that we were more impressed over!

Entrance to the burial cave

Formed some 225 million years ago when a volcano came into contact with the sea (Salar de Uyuni was a sea then), bizarre formations were created. The cave was rather small, and when me and my friends entered, we were all immediately amazed. The sight was unlike any I've seen. Shapes aside, the strutures and formations were riddled with holes and fibrous lines and some were so thin, in fact they looked like a membrane of a leaf! I was actually worried that I would accidentally crack or crumple the formations! At some points, somehow I would imagine the scene would have easily passed off as some alien hatchery or hive of some kind! Or maybe I have too much imagination...

The cave was discovered only in 2003, so it's relatively "new" but I hope the authorities would properly manage the place. The "path" in the cave is relatively narrow, and an overly enthusiastic tourist would have easily cause mishap. We were the only tourist then.

Having seen caves ranging from limestone caves,  salt cave, glacier cave, and also another lava cave (this would have been considered a lava cave I believe), this still impresses. And really, the scenery in the Altiplano is so wonderful, adding a day to your tour wouldn't hurt!

Manjanggul Cave, South Korea

Jeju Island is one of South Korea's main tourist hotspots, and the volcanic island is also listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Classified under the Natural section, its Lava Tubes are highly regarded and valued around the world.

Walking in the lava tube in Manjanggul

The Geomunoreum Lava Tube System is a series of lava tube caves formed when the Geomunoreum volcano erupted 100 to 300 thousand years ago. The biggest of these lava tube caves is Manjanggul Cave, and the tunnels through the cave runs for 7416 metres! However, only one section of about 1km is open to the public.

Formed by volcanic lava flows, the tunnels and caves are literally "carved" out by lava flows. You can actually see the flow lines on the tunnel walls! So it was quite surreal to think that molten rock created this huge passageway that you are now walking on. There are also many formations within the cave as a result of hardened lava, and many of these provide excellent geological value for scientific studies. There are even lava stalactites formed! Many parts have signs with explanations of the various features, so it's very educational. There are also many species of cave creatures that inhabit the cave, which again provide rich academic value. Luckily, the tourist section of the cave were spared visitations by these creatures :)

Manjanggul Cave is accessible by public bus from Jeju city as well as Seogwipo. However, from the bus-stop on the main road, it's another 30+minutes of walking to the entrance of the cave. Luckily, it's a nice scenic walk. Of course, with a hired car, things get more convenient (and most would agree that Jeju is best visited with a car). Visitors should bring some warm clothings as the temperature inside the cave range between 11-18 deg Celsius. A torchlight may be useful too although the cave and tunnels have some lights, they are unfortunately gawdily coloured (I feel).

Highly recommended visit!

The 30+ minute walk to the entrance is a scenic walk :)