Wanderlust Nordics: Exploring Trails in Scandinavia

During the website’s recent hiatus, I hiked, traveled, dabbled in extreme ironing, and wrote two books. The first of those titles was Wanderlust Nordics: Exploring Trails in Scandinavia.*

Released late last year, it’s a 300-page coffee table book that showcases 26 of the finest hikes from Iceland, Norway, Greenland, Finland, Sweden, and the Faroe Islands. From family-friendly day hikes to challenging multi-week treks, there is something to interest everyone, from beginners to experienced vets. The featured trails include established classics such as the Kungsleden, Arctic Circle Trail, and the Laugavegur, along with lesser-known excursions such as Long Crossing of the Lofoten Islands, Saskun to Tjornuvik Trail, and the island-spanning Iceland Traverse. 

Cover photo by Cody Duncan.

Wanderlust Nordics marked my fifth book with Gestalten Publications. As with the other titles in the series, it was very much a collaborative effort. The book features images from an array of amazing photographers, Florian Bayer provides the illustrations, Bureau Rabensteiner takes care of the map design, and the crack editing team at Gestalten (led by Robert Klanten and Anna Diekmann) puts it all together. Yours truly was responsible for the writing, cartographic research, and chipped in with an assist on the editing front.  

Overview map for Wanderlust Nordics

From a personal perspective, Wanderlust Nordics was an ambulatory journey almost a quarter of a century in the making. In 2000, I made my first visit to the region in the form of a lengthy trip around Iceland. Since that initial adventure, I have traveled back to this magical part of the world on multiple occasions, repeatedly drawn by a Viking treasure trove of hiking possibilities. From sweeping Arctic tundra to iceberg-dotted coastlines and from yawning fjords to lost-in-time villages, it’s an area to which superlatives and photos can never really do justice, though hopefully, in Wanderlust Nordics, we give it a good crack! 

Nordic Adventures through the years (clockwise from bottom right): 1. Skaftafell Loop, Iceland, 2000; 2. Kungsleden, Sweden, 2009; 3. Saskun to Tjornuvik, Faroe Islands, 2022, and; 4. Long Crossing of the Lofoten Islands, 2016.

Along with the flight-search-inspiring images, each Wanderlust Nordics hike features trail descriptions, background history, logistical information, and practical tips. Like the other editions in the Wanderlust series, the book isn’t a detailed planning guide that hikers will take with them out on the trail (Hint: It weighs almost 2 kg/4.4 lbs). Rather it’s an idea generator for those who like to experience natural places on foot, with everything they need in the world on their backs.

And with that, I’ll leave you with some more images from each of the book’s five chapters:

Ponds and meadows dot the geothermal landscape near Landmannalaugar on the Laugavergur and Iceland Traverse. (Photo Credit: p.214 (bottom) – Tomáš Zrna/ northernadventures.co, Wanderlust Nordics, gestalten 2023)

Turf-roofed farmhouses near the starting point of the Skafatell Loop, Iceland (p.175 – Paddy Dillon/ paddydillon.co.uk, Wanderlust Nordics, gestalten 2023)

Rapadalen Valley in Sarek National Park (Photo Credit: P. 58-59 – Cody Duncan, Wanderlust Nordics, gestalten 2023)(Note: I highly recommend Cody’s website. It has some of the most amazing images I’ve ever seen from Northern Scandinavia).

The village of Sisimiut, the western terminus of Greenland’s Arctic Circle Trail (p.132-133 – Paddy Dillon, Wanderlust Nordics, gestalten 2023)

Drinking in a crimson sunrise with icebergs floating by / Oqaatsut Trail, Greenland (P.126 – Cam Honan, Wanderlust Nordics, gestalten 2023)

Mykines is the one and only village on its namesake island. It consists of around 40 houses, of which only six are occupied year-round (P.98-99 – Cam Honan, Wanderlust Nordics, gestalten 2023)

Yours truly gazing out from Cape Enniberg (Faroe Islands), the world’s highest promontory (P.119 – Cam Honan, Wanderlust Nordics, gestalten 2023)

Fall foliage on Finnish Lapland’s Bear’s Ring Trail (P.293 – Cam Honan, Wanderlust Nordics, gestalten 2023).

Aurora Borealis over Horseid Beach in Norway’s Lofoten Islands (P.276 (bottom) – Cody Duncan, Wanderlust Nordics, gestalten 2023

Hiking Norway’s Rondane Triangle (P.238 – Cam Honan, Wanderlust Nordics, gestalten 2023)

*The second book referenced in the opening paragraph is Wanderlust Mediterranean, which has just come out in Europe and will be released everywhere else on October 1, 2024.

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