Route 1 or the Ring Road ( or ) is a

national road The National Road (also known as the Cumberland Road) was the first major improved highway in the United States built by the Federal Government of the United States, federal government. Built between 1811 and 1837, the road connected the Pot ...

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

that circles the entire country. As a major trunk route, it is considered to be the most important piece of transport infrastructure in Iceland as it connects the majority of towns together in the most densely populated areas of the country. Economically, it carries a large proportion of

goods In economics, goods are items that satisfy human wants and provide utility, for example, to a consumer making a purchase of a satisfying product. A common distinction is made between goods which are transferable, and services, which are not tran ...

traffic as well as

tourist Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism mo ...

traffic. The total length of the road is . The road was completed in 1974, coinciding with the 1,100th anniversary of the country's settlement when the longest bridge in Iceland, crossing the

Skeiðará Skeiðará () is a relatively short glacier river (about 30 km long). It has its source on the glacier Skeiðarárjökull, one of the southern arms of the Vatnajökull in the south of Iceland. In spite of its short length, this river has a b ...

river in the southeast, was opened. Previously, vehicles intending to travel between southern settlements, e.g. Vík to Höfn, had to travel north of the country through Akureyri, making the opening a major transport improvement to the country. Many popular tourist attractions in Iceland, such as the

Seljalandsfoss Seljalandsfoss () is a waterfall in Iceland. Seljalandsfoss is located in the South Region in Iceland right by Route 1 and the road that leads to Þórsmörk Road 249. The waterfall drops and is part of the Seljalands River that has its origin ...

and

Skógafoss Skógafoss (pronounced ) is a waterfall on the Skógá River in the south of Iceland at the cliff marking the former coastline. After the coastline had receded (it is now at a distance of about from Skógar), the former sea cliffs remained, paral ...

waterfalls,

Dyrhólaey Dyrhólaey (, "door hill island"), formerly known by seamen as Cape Portland, is a small promontory located on the south coast of Iceland, not far from the village Vík. It was formerly an island of volcanic origin, which is also known by the ...

cliffs,

Jökulsárlón Jökulsárlón (; literally "glacial river lagoon") is a large glacial lake in southern part of Vatnajökull National Park, Iceland. Situated at the head of the Breiðamerkurjökull glacier, it developed into a lake after the glacier started rece ...

glacier lagoon, as well as

Mývatn () is a shallow lake situated in an area of active volcanism in the north of Iceland, not far from Krafla volcano. It has a high amount of biological activity. The lake and the surrounding wetlands provides a habitat for a number of waterbirds, e ...

lake,

Dettifoss Dettifoss () is a waterfall in Vatnajökull National Park in Northeast Iceland, and is reputed to be the second most powerful waterfall in Europe after the Rhine Falls. Dettifoss is situated on the Jökulsá á Fjöllum river, which flows from th ...

and

Goðafoss Goðafoss () is a waterfall in northern Iceland. It is located along the country's main ring road at the junction with the Sprengisandur highland road, about 45 minutes from Akureyri, Iceland's second largest city. The water of the river Skjálfan ...

waterfalls in the north are easily accessible from the Ring Road. The road passes through almost all areas of the country (everwhere apart from the

Westfjords The Westfjords or West Fjords ( is, Vestfirðir , ISO 3166-2:IS: IS-4) is a large peninsula in northwestern Iceland and an administrative district, the least populous administrative district. It lies on the Denmark Strait, facing the east coast ...

), making it a popular itinerary to take for tourists and vacationing locals alike in Iceland.

Characteristics

The Ring Road is

paved Pavement may refer to: * Pavement (architecture), an outdoor floor or superficial surface covering * Road surface, the durable surfacing of roads and walkways ** Asphalt concrete, a common form of road surface * Sidewalk or pavement, a walkway alo ...

for all of its length and is mostly two lanes wide: one lane going in each direction. The Icelandic Road Administration,

Vegagerðin The Road and Coastal Administration ( ) is a state run institution in Iceland whose purpose is to construct and maintain roads and infrastructure (land and sea) in rural areas and between urban areas. Formerly belonging to the Ministry of the Inte ...

, oversees the maintenance and operation of the Ring Road. The road is generally of good quality, recent road improvement projects have improved safety considerably. However the road still has hazards, going over many higher-altitude

mountain passes A mountain pass is a navigable route through a mountain range or over a ridge. Since many of the world's mountain ranges have presented formidable barriers to travel, passes have played a key role in trade, war, and both human and animal migrati ...

in all parts of the country, which can have steep

gradients In vector calculus, the gradient of a scalar-valued differentiable function of several variables is the vector field (or vector-valued function) \nabla f whose value at a point p is the "direction and rate of fastest increase". If the gradi ...

and sharp curves, as well as blind curves and summits and single-lane bridges, especially in the more rural east of the country. Driving in winter one must take special precautions and pre-check driving conditions with th
Icelandic Road Administration
to ensure the road is passable. The

speed limit Speed limits on road traffic, as used in most countries, set the legal maximum speed at which vehicles may travel on a given stretch of road. Speed limits are generally indicated on a traffic sign reflecting the maximum permitted speed - expres ...

is on open sections; in tunnels and through urban areas. A few speed cameras operate on roads just outside of Reykjavík and in all tunnels. 20190622 ThorsmorkHwy 7458 (48454742447)

20190622 ThorsmorkHwy 7458 (48454742447)

In recent years, due to increased traffic and demands for higher road safety, many large improvements have been made in both capacity and safety of the ring road. In the southwestern corner of the country, near

Reykjavík Reykjavík ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói bay. Its latitude is 64°08' N, making it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. With a po ...

, between the larger towns of

Mosfellsbær Mosfellsbær (, colloquially Mosó) is a town in south-west Iceland, east of the country's capital, Reykjavík. The town of Mosfellsbær is a 15-minute drive from midtown Reykjavík. The district includes the Leiruvogur cove, which forms part of ...

and

Hveragerði Hveragerði (, "hot-spring yard") is a town and municipality in the south of Iceland, 45 km east of Reykjavík on Iceland's main ringroad, Route 1 (Iceland), Route 1. The river Varmá runs through the town. Overview The surrounding area ...

, the road is usually divided by a barrier and has three or four lanes of traffic, mostly being a 2+1 lane partly-

controlled access highway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms i ...

, similar to a

2-lane expressway A two-lane expressway or two-lane freeway is an expressway or freeway with only one lane in each direction, and usually no median barrier. It may be built that way because of constraints, or may be intended for expansion once traffic volumes ris ...

. At current traffic levels, 2+1 lane roads provide similar safety and traffic requirements to a regular

expressway Expressway may refer to: * Controlled-access highway, the highest-grade type of highway with access ramps, lane markings, etc., for high-speed traffic. * Limited-access road, a lower grade of highway or arterial road. *Expressway, the fictional s ...

, and can be upgraded to a 4 lane road when traffic neccitates it. The sections between

and

Selfoss Selfoss may refer to: *Selfoss (town), Iceland *UMF Selfoss, a football club based in Selfoss **Selfoss men's football **Selfoss women's football *Selfoss (waterfall), Iceland *Selfoss Airport Selfoss Airport is an airport serving Selfoss, a to ...

, as well as between

and the

Hvalfjörður tunnel The Hvalfjörður Tunnel ( is, Hvalfjarðargöng ) is a road tunnel under the Hvalfjörður fjord in Iceland and a part of Route 1. It is long and reaches a depth of below sea level. Opened on 11 July 1998, it shortens the distance from Reykjav ...

are being upgraded to 2+1 roads and should be complete by 2023. The 7.4km long

Vaðlaheiðargöng Vaðlaheiðargöng () is a toll tunnel in the north of Iceland along Route 1, just east of Akureyri. It passes between Eyjafjörður and Fnjóskadalur. It is long and replaces a 21 km section of Route 1 including the Víkurskarð pass, oft ...

tunnel near

Akureyri Akureyri (, locally ) is a town in northern Iceland. It is Iceland's fifth-largest municipality, after Reykjavík, Hafnarfjörður, Reykjanesbær and Kópavogur, and the largest town outside Iceland's more populated southwest corner. Nicknamed ...

in the north of the country shortened the route by 16km and improved winter safety, bypassing a mountain road. Einbreid Bru

Single-lane bridges

In more rural parts of the country, mostly in the glacial plains of the south and the

Eastfjords Eastern Region ( is, Austurland ) is a region in eastern Iceland. Its area is and in 2020 its population was 13,173. The Eastern Regions has a jagged coastline of fjords, referred to as the Eastfjords ( ). The largest town in the region is Egi ...

, 32 single-lane bridges exist on the Ring Road. Dating back to the original construction of the road in the 1970s, they are sometimes constructed of wood or steel. Vehicles who approach the bridge first have the right of way. These are often narrow and long, making passing difficult, especially when there is high traffic. Non-locals, unaware of the rules of single-lane bridges, have ended in head-on and serious collisions using these bridges. Considered a major safety issue, the

Icelandic Road Administration The Road and Coastal Administration ( ) is a state run institution in Iceland whose purpose is to construct and maintain roads and infrastructure (land and sea) in rural areas and between urban areas. Formerly belonging to the Ministry of the Inte ...

aims to rebuild/upgrade all bridges on the ring road to modern 2 lane standards. Single lane bridges were reduced from around 60 in 2010, to 32 in 2020. In the next 5 years, a further 14 one-lane bridges are to be rebuilt, mostly along the south coast.

Driving in winter

Route 1 has the highest priority for

snow removal Snow removal or snow clearing is the job of removing snow after a snowfall to make travel easier and safer. This is done by both individual households and by governments and institutions. De-icing and anti-icing De-icing is defined as removal ...

from the

and is serviced 7 days a week during the winter, with teams keeping the road open as weather allows Conditions are monitored 24/7 and relayed to the public through their website and telephone helpline. During extreme weather it may take hours until the weather calms down to open the road, or for maintenance teams to clear the road of snow after major snowfalls. A few major mountain passes prone to closure in heavily trafficked parts of the ring road: * Hellisheiði, between

and

* Holtavörðuheði, between Borganes and Staðarskáli (on the Reykjavík to

route) * Vatnsskarð, between

Blönduós Blönduós () is a town and former municipality in the north of Iceland with a population of 895 in 2018. Like many towns and villages around Iceland, Blönduós did not emerge as a village until the late 19th century. The town is situated on Ro ...

and

Varmahlíð Varmahlíð () is a small village in Skagafjörður, northern Iceland. Around 140 people live on the eastern slope of the hill for which the town is named (''varmur''=warm, ''hlíð''=slope). Varmahlíð is on the ring road Route 1, at the junc ...

(on the Reykjavík to Akureyri route) * Öxnadalsheiði, between

and

(on the Reykjavík to Akureyri route) * Biskupsháls, between

and

Egilsstaðir Egilsstaðir () is a town in east Iceland on the banks of the Lagarfljót river. It is part of the municipality of Múlaþing and the largest settlement of the Eastern Region with, as of 2020, a population of 2,522 inhabitants. Formerly Egilsst ...

Winter closures used to be more common in the past. In recent years, new tunnels such as the 7.4km long

near

in the north, have reduced the need to close the road due to snow. Prior to rerouting, the route between

Breiðdalsvík Breiðdalsvík () is a young fishing town in Iceland. It is part of the municipality of Breiðdalshreppur and is located near Egilsstaðir and Breiðdalsheiði on a very large cove with the same name. With a population of only 139, the town con ...

and

(over the ''Breiðdalsheiði'' plateau) in the east was often closed in winter. Route 1 was rerouted in November 2017, now using the somewhat sinuous coastal route via

Reyðarfjörður Reyðarfjörður () is a town in Iceland. It has a population of 1,350 and is one of the most populated villages that constitute the municipality of Fjarðabyggð. History The town is at the bottom of the eponymous fjord, the largest on the east ...

, using (now former) Routes 96 and 92 to travel between the towns.

Natural hazards

Route 1 crosses a few glacial plains, such as

Skeiðarársandur Skeiðarársandur () is an Icelandic glacial outwash plain, a vast expanse of sand generated by the transport of debris by the Skeiðará and other rivers, whose flow is generated by the Skeiðarárjökull glacier and fed by the volcanic systems ...

, which made the original road construction difficult in the 1970s. In addition, the Skeiðarársandur plain is subject to frequent glacial floods during or after eruptions on the nearby

Grímsvötn Grímsvötn (; ''vötn'' = "waters", singular: ) is a volcano with a (partially subglacial) fissure system located in Vatnajökull National Park, Iceland. The volcano itself is completely subglacial and located under the northwestern side of the Va ...

volcano A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates are ...

. Bridges and other stretches of road over the plains have had to be rebuilt as a result, notably during the eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in 2010, when the ring road was severed for several days in the south. These are not considered to a be a risk to everyday travellers as the roads are closed well in advance of a warning of a volcanic eruption. Selfoss, Iceland - panoramio (1)

Traffic

Since its completion, the ring road has seen constant growth in traffic, and has seen an even quicker growth during the recent rise in number of tourists arriving in Iceland. Average traffic recorded along the ring road rose from a consolidated count of 57,000 vehicles per day in 2005 to over 90,000 vehicles per day in 2019. Route 1 is popular with

tourists Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism mo ...

since it covers most of the country and many sights of interest are located near to the route. It has long been a popular route with Icelandic families going on summer vacation, but in recent years the route is becoming more popular with foreign tourists who either rent a car or bring their own on the ferry to

Seyðisfjörður Seyðisfjörður () is a town in the Eastern Region of Iceland at the innermost point of the fjord of the same name. The town is located in the municipality of Múlaþing. A road over Fjarðarheiði mountain pass (elevation ) connects Seyðisfjö ...

. Traffic levels on the road vary considerably between locations: in and near

around 20,000-50,000 vehicles use the road daily, rural sections serving routes between Reykjavik and

in the west and Reykjavík and Vík in the south see traffic volumes of around 2,000 to 5,000 vehicles per day. The stretches farthest away from larger towns, mostly in the sparsely inhabited east of the country see an average around 500 vehicles per day. Traffic on the ring road is also subject to considerable variation between the winter and summer, with the traffic in summer often being double or more during the summer. This is due to a lower flow of tourist and agricultural traffic, as well as the roads being less passable or even closed during the winter. Traffic can become considerably heavy on weekends during the summer, when locals flock to travel around the country for holidays, camping and summer house visits across the country. Heavy summer traffic is especially a problem during the summer at the town of

, where a single two lane bridge, Ölfusárbrú, is routed through the town carries practically all of the traffic in the south of the country, a significant bottleneck. This is planned to be replaced by a new bypass road and new 4-lane bridge over the

Ölfus Ölfus () is a municipality located in Iceland. The major town is called Þorlákshöfn. The bottled water brand Icelandic Glacial is manufactured in this area, at the Ölfus spring. Geography In Ölfus several lava tubes can be visited. ''Raufa ...

river, with current plans seeing it complete by 2025

Sections

The route goes by many names depending on its location. The following table shows road names (excluding tunnels) in a clockwise direction from Reykjavík. Hringvegur rvk junction 1

Tunnels on Route 1

Hvalfjörður Tunnel The Hvalfjörður Tunnel ( is, Hvalfjarðargöng ) is a road tunnel under the Hvalfjörður fjord in Iceland and a part of Route 1. It is long and reaches a depth of below sea level. Opened on 11 July 1998, it shortens the distance from Reykjav ...

* Almannaskarð Tunnel *

Fáskrúðsfjarðargöng Fáskrúðsfjarðargöng () is a tunnel in Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and ...

* Vaðlaheiði Tunnel

List of cities and towns on Route 1

Travelling clockwise (initially northward) from Reykjavík, the following communities and settlements are located on Route 1. *

Borgarnes Borgarnes () is a town located on a peninsula at the shore of Borgarfjörður in Iceland and is the largest town in the Borgarbyggð municipality with a population of about 3800 residents. It is a main junction in Iceland and the gateway to the S ...

Bifröst In Norse mythology, Bifröst (), also called Bilröst, is a burning rainbow bridge that reaches between Midgard (Earth) and Asgard, the realm of the gods. The bridge is attested as ''Bilröst'' in the ''Poetic Edda''; compiled in the 13th centur ...

Reykjahlíð Reykjahlíð () is a village situated on the shores of Lake Mývatn in the north of Iceland. It is the seat of the municipality of Skútustaðahreppur. It has 227 inhabitants as of 2021. Overview During the so-called Mývatn fires, caused by the ...

Eskifjörður Eskifjörður (in original spelling; ), or Eskifjördur is a town and port in eastern Iceland with a large fishing industry. With a population of 1,043 it is one of the most populous towns in the municipality of Fjarðabyggð. History Eskifjörðu ...

Fáskrúðsfjörður Fáskrúðsfjörður (; previously named also Búðir ) is a village (''þorp'') in eastern Iceland. It has a population of 662 (as of 2011) and constitutes one of the villages composing the municipality of Fjarðabyggð. Geography Fáskrúðsf ...

Stöðvarfjörður Stöðvarfjörður (; formerly Kirkjuból ) is a village in east Iceland. It sits on the Northern shore of the fjord of the same name, is part of the municipality of Fjarðabyggð and has less than 200 inhabitants. History Stöðvarfjörður is r ...

Djúpivogur Djúpivogur () is a small town and municipality (Djúpavogshreppur ) located on a peninsula in the Austurland region in eastern Iceland, near the island of Papey and on the fjord Berufjörður. The municipality was formed by the merger of rural c ...

Höfn Höfn () or Höfn í Hornafirði () is an Icelandic fishing town in the southeastern part of the country. It lies near Hornafjörður fjord. The town, the second largest in the southeastern part of Iceland, offers scenic views of Vatnajökull (th ...

Kirkjubæjarklaustur Kirkjubæjarklaustur ( Icelandic for "church farm cloister", pronounced ; often referred to locally as just Klaustur) is a village in the south of Iceland on the hringvegur (road no. 1 or Ring Road) between Vík í Mýrdal and Höfn. It is part ...

Vík í Mýrdal The village of Vík (; or Vík í Mýrdal in full) is the southernmost village in Iceland, located on the main ring road around the island, around by road southeast of Reykjavík. Despite its small size (750 inhabitants in Mýrdalshreppur as ...

(''Vík'') *

Skógar Skógar (pronounced ), literally "forests", is a small Icelandic village with a population of roughly 25 located at the south of the Eyjafjallajökull glacier, in the municipality of Rangárþing eystra. The area is known for its waterfall, Skóg ...

Hvolsvöllur Hvolsvöllur () is a small town in the south of Iceland about 106 km to the east of Reykjavík. Overview The name of the town literally translates to "Hillfield". ( in the genitive case) is an archaic form of the modern Icelandic word ...

Hella ''Hella'' is an American slang term that originated in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is used as an intensifying adverb such as in "hella bad" or "hella good" and was eventually added to the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' in 2002. It is possibl ...

In popular culture

During the 2016

summer solstice The summer solstice, also called the estival solstice or midsummer, occurs when one of Earth's poles has its maximum tilt toward the Sun. It happens twice yearly, once in each hemisphere ( Northern and Southern). For that hemisphere, the summer ...

, the Icelandic band

Sigur Rós Sigur Rós () is an Icelandic post-rock band from Reykjavík, active since 1994. The band comprises singer and guitarist Jón Þór "Jónsi" Birgisson, bassist Georg Hólm, and keyboardist Kjartan Sveinsson. Known for their ethereal sound, fron ...

filmed and broadcast a live Slow TV event tour of Iceland driving along the entire route. The event was broadcast live in 360-degree video with a soundtrack of constantly evolving music based around elements of their track Óveður.

Gallery

File:RingRoad-pjt.jpg, Road sign File:Hringvegur in Borgarfjörður.jpg, A typical stretch of Route 1, in

Borgarfjörður Borgarfjörður () is a fjord in the west of Iceland near the town of Borgarnes. Although the waters of Borgarfjörður appear calm, the fjord has significant undercurrents and shallows. The many flat islands lying in the fjord are for the most ...

File:Vatnsskarð weather station.jpg, Road conditions are monitored in real time by a system of weather stations and webcams, such as this station at Vatnsskarð pass in north Iceland. File:Iceland route 1 between vik and hofn.jpg, An icy stretch of Route 1 between

and

References

External links

Gateway to Iceland

Official Icelandic Road Administration

Driving in Iceland

Photos from Iceland Ring RoadIceland videos

Iceland Meteorology Bureau

Umferðarstofa - Road Traffic Directorate

Gateway to Iceland
* {{wikiatlas, Iceland

Roads in Iceland 1974 in Iceland Ring roads