New national park in Iceland
Tuesday, 29 Apr 2008 09:45
Holidaymakers travelling to Iceland this summer will have the opportunity to explore Europe's largest, and newest, national park.
The Vatnajökull national park will cover 13,000 sq kms and will be the biggest protected wilderness in Europe when it opens on June 7th 2008.
The boundaries of the Vatnajökull park will incorporate previously unprotected land as well the existing Skaftafell and Jökulsárgljúfur national parks.
It will also feature the most powerful waterfall in Europe - Dettifoss - and the entire Vatnajökull glacier.
The Icelandic government is investing an initial ISK1,150 million (£8 million) in a network of visitor centres and park rangers' work stations, which are due to be completed in 2012.
Ólöf Ýrr Atladóttir, director general of the Icelandic Tourist Board and vice chair of the board of the new park sees "a myriad of possibilities" for activities in the region.
The former park-ranger anticipates "action tours, eco-recreation, study visits and learning experiences as well as the chance to experience the nurturing silence of Iceland's highlands".