Hella

Hella is the quieter of the two villages between Selfoss and the waterfalls, half an hour east of Selfoss and fifteen minutes short of Hvolsvöllur, and it matters to a route plan for one reason: it is the Ring Road junction for the Landmannalaugar roads. Route 26 leaves the Ring Road just east of here for the Þjórsárdalur valley, Hrauneyjar and the F208 north approach to Landmannalaugar, and on to the Sprengisandur F26. Anyone heading into Fjallabak from the north fills here or at Hvolsvöllur, because the next fuel inland is the Olís point at Hrauneyjar and nothing after that.

The practical line, confirmed on the operators' lists today: Olís has a fuel station (olis.is) and Kjörbúðin a grocery (kjorbudin.is); no Bónus, Krónan or Nettó. There is a municipal pool and a campsite on the river; toilets at the station. Phone signal is good.

Timing: Hella is about 90 minutes from Reykjavík and is where the first-day traffic from the capital starts to spread out. Quiet always, except in the first week of July when the Hekla-area festival camps fill the river banks.

Safety is the highland junction, not the village. Route 26 is paved to Hrauneyjar; beyond, the F-roads are closed until the Road Administration opens them, usually in June, and safetravel.is warns that "no insurance covers any damage of a vehicle while crossing a river". Hekla stands on the skyline; its eruption warning signs along route 26 ask drivers not to linger.