Kaldadalsvegur

Main road 550 in the highlands of Iceland
Kaldadalsvegur
map
Basic data
Operator:	Vegagerðin
Start of the street:	Uxahryggjavegur ( 64 ° 26 ′  N , 20 ° 58 ′  W )
End of street:	Hálsasveitarvegur , near Húsafell ( 64 ° 42 ′  N , 20 ° 50 ′  W )
Overall length:	39.95 km
Region (landsvæði) :	Vesturland
Kaldadalsvegur on Þorisjökull
Course of the road Uxahryggjavegur Lake Litla-Brunnavatn Skjaldbreiður Skjaldbreiðarvegur → Kjalvegur Thórisjokull Kaldidalur OK River Geilá Langjökulsvegur → Langjökull Lambá Hvítársíðuvegur → Surtshellir Hálsasveitarvegur → Hraunfossar  Map with all coordinates: OSM | WikiMap map

The Kaldadalsvegur is a main road in the highlands in the west of Iceland .

It begins at Uxahryggjavegur , where it turns south towards nachingvellir when coming from the west . The Kaldadalsvegur leads north. The Skjaldbreiðarvegur leads to the shield volcano of the same name and on to Kjalvegur . Further north it runs between the Þórisjökull glacier (1350 m) and the Ok volcano , which has not had a glacier since 2014. The Langjökulsvegur branches off to the east , on which one can reach the edge of the Langjökull glacier after 8 km . At the northern end of the Kaldadalsvegur, the Hvítársíðuvegur leads eastwards, first a bridge over the Hvítá and further z. B. to Surtshellir and Stefánshellir . To the west the Hálsasveitarvegur leads to the waterfalls Barnafoss and Hraunfossar and after 31 km also to the Borgarfjarðarbraut .

Before January 1, 2020, the Kaldadalsvegur began on Þingvallavegur in the national park and was 23 km longer. This paved part is now called Uxahryggjavegurs again .

The Kaldidalur , after which this street is named, is located between Þórisjökull and Ok . The road rises to a height of 720 m and there are no rivers to ford along its 63 km. As the shortest highland route that has long been free of river crossings, it is therefore also called “highland for beginners”. The route can also be driven with a normal car, albeit with some difficulties. ( Note : The companies determine whether this is also permitted with rental vehicles.)

For the Kaldadalsvegur there is a winter closure (Ófært) and a driving ban when the snow melts. In recent years, the route was opened again between June 1st and July 7th, mostly around June 7th.

See also

• List of highland roads in Iceland

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Vegaskrá 2019 - kaflaskipt. Retrieved March 2, 2020 (Icelandic). 
2. ↑ Brúaskrá, bryr á þjóðvegum. Retrieved August 4, 2019 (Icelandic). 
3. ↑ Hæð nokkurra vega yfir sjó. Retrieved August 4, 2019 (Icelandic). 
4. ↑ Opnun_fjallvega_is_2019. Retrieved August 4, 2019 (Icelandic).