Tucked into Iceland's Kerlingarfjoll mountains in the center of the country, Highland Base is a property that seems about as far from its sister attraction, the Blue Lagoon, as you can get, not just in travel time but in the experience.
First off, the Highlands section of Iceland is remote: The drive between Reykjavik and Highland Base, on one of Iceland's unpaved highways, known as "F" roads, can take three hours in favorable weather but more than double that when it's snowy or when conditions are rough. Once you turn onto the road, there are no towns, gas stations or rest stops along the way. In the winter, a Super Jeep driven by a professional is mandatory. During the drive, guests may spot the country's glacier sheets, wild rivers and rocky, moonlike plateaus.
When visitors arrive at Highland Base (as I did, in a giant Land Rover Defender that rode over most of the bumpy road with ease), they'll find themselves at the top of the Asgardur Valley, looking down on Highland's charming, villagelike groupings. There's a new, modern-built hotel with vertical wood slats and picture windows that bump out asymmetrically, a collection of rustic A-frame cabins and a campsite with a communal house for cooking and showering.
The main building includes the gathering place for all: a restaurant and bar. Upstairs for hotel guests is a cozy lounge with books and board games. On the other side of the hotel are its outdoor, geothermal baths, and beyond that is the vast view of the valley, the Asgardsa River and the mountain range.
A path along the river near Highland Base leads to a small hot spring. Photo Credit: Rebecca Tobin
Blue to neon hues
At the Blue Lagoon, the primary colors are the milky blue of the silica-infused waters and the rough black of the lava fields. At Highland Base, I couldn't get enough of the wild colors of the mineral-rich mountains, striped in red and orange, threaded with blue and green. But after a dusting of snow, the landscape looks like a black-and-white photograph. The thermal baths are a green-brown color, and the rising steam adds to the mystery. On some clear nights, neon northern lights dance above the mountain range.
Regarding the colors I encountered there: Kerlingarfjoll, I was told, was formed over 300,000 years ago through a series of subglacial volcanic eruptions and is primarily composed of rhyolite, a vibrant rock abundant in silica. The baths get their coloring from the iron in the ground.
In the winter, the snow can fall fiercely, blanketing the houses and roads (yes, Highland Base is open in winter for the cold-weather-loving sort of travelers).
"It's so unique; it's an incredible place," said Magnus Orri Marinarson Schram, director of business development for new destinations. "Its strength is its location, because it's remote. We are not very conventional in our way of thinking, because we believe what we can bring is ... how you connect closely to the nature."
As part of an ongoing expansion strategy, Blue Lagoon purchased Highland Base in 2020 and set about modernizing and expanding it -- carefully, as it is an environmentally protected zone, the aim of which is to preserve and honor its geological, geographical and geothermal sanctity.
The company hewed out the thermal baths, added the bigger hotel and relocated the cabins, a process that Schram said was complex because of the remote location and "weather window" it had in bringing in tools and supplies.
The northern lights dance over the new Highland Base hotel in Iceland, as seen from its geothermal baths. Photo Credit: Rebecca Tobin
In addition to environmental and logistical concerns, Blue Lagoon also had community to contend with. And unlike the company's eponymous lagoon and resort complex, which is the country's biggest tourist draw and can accommodate large numbers of visitors per day, Highland Base has historically been for Icelanders.
It is a popular destination for vacationing and hiking. Mountaineering began here in the 1930s, and until recently the site housed a popular ski school. I heard from more than one Icelander who spoke fondly of their childhood skiing memories there.
As Schram put it, the place has a "special sentiment and place in the hearts of Icelanders."
It's with that sentiment in mind that Blue Lagoon set about giving it a makeover that would keep the atmosphere but add more upscale touches, thereby appealing to a multitude of price points. Schram said it wouldn't be "wise" to take a campground and lodge and convert it to an exclusive luxury getaway.
"It was important for us on Day 1 that we would cater to all market segments," he said. "We wanted everybody to be together. And it's the style of the mountains that some people spend a lot of money on accommodations, some people spend not as much money, but everybody [eats] at the same restaurant, everyone sharing at the same bar."
There are top-drawer accommodations, for sure. The standalone lodges are studio compartments that can sleep up to four in a two-level setup, with a living room and a huge window overlooking the river. And most U.S. clients will likely gravitate to the spacious hotel rooms in the new building that feature wood-slatted walls and floors and cozy comforters in neutral shades.
Guests of the lodges and hotel rooms get complimentary access to the thermal baths, but campers and even those passing through can obtain access through a day pass. A shower area adjacent to the baths has storage space for clothes and boots. The restaurant and bar, too, are open to everyone for buffet breakfasts and dinners (hearty and delicious) and a la carte lunches.
Blue Lagoon is also working on creating packages that would include a lagoon-resort stay and a visit to Highland Base.
"It was important that everybody [could] find a place in the Highlands," Schram said.
The geothermal baths at Highland Base, with the hotel's main restaurant and lounge in the background. Photo Credit: Rebecca Tobin
Activities in the Highlands
There are quite a few challenging hikes in the area, but one that should not be missed for the adventurous is a hike into Hveradalir, or "the valley of the hot springs." Down there, the thermal water sizzles, steams and spurts up from the ground. Like the drive to Highland Base, the journey is memorable: Hikers head down (or up) a flight of several hundred steps -- no railing -- that in our case were covered in a special kind of cement-like mud that caked to my hiking boots and dried to a sort of mustardy-tan.
Another hike, which I undertook solo, was a well-marked, 25-minute out-and-back ramble along the bank of the Asgardsa River to a small thermal spring.
Visitors looking to maximize their experience can hire a private guide to help craft their outdoor pursuits and activities during their stay. Biking, snowmobiling, skiing and all-terrain buggy tours are available, depending on the season. I recommend that on at least one day visitors wrap up their activities in time for the daily waffle buffet.
But the smart move here is to head straight for Highland Base's geothermal baths at any opportunity.
Bathers are immersed in the natural environment: Hills rise up just beyond the valley, and grass grows right up to the edge of the baths, which are built into a rocky slope.
The opaque, green-hued mineral water has a low pH level and is free from added chemicals, so it's easy to sit and soak for long periods. There's also a sauna, cold plunge and a small bar selling wine and beer.
After dinner, groups adjourned to the baths for the ultimate Icelandic show: The aurora.
During my visit, we were extraordinarily blessed with more than two hours of shifting lights. It's possible that you'll come away with photo and video so good, you'll be embarrassed to show anybody.