09/01/2020 | 10:53 AM

Chris Burkard's bikepacking adventure across Iceland

We appreciate how much photographer and adventurer Chris Burkard loves Iceland. And we are in awe of the amazing cross-country bikepacking trip he and his team have just completed - 975km (just over 600 miles) from Dalatangi in the far east of Iceland to Látrabjarg, the country’s westernmost point.

Over 8.5 days, Chris and his self-supported team biked through some incredibly challenging terrain: glaciers, deserts, fjords, and countless river crossings in the country's empty interior highlands. It was a year’s worth of planning that came together for the team, and Icelandair is proud to have been involved.

Congratulations to Chris, Adam, Emily and Eric for your inspiring cross-country Tour de Iceland! Thank you for showing us a new side to Iceland's raw beauty.

We hope that when the time is right, others will come visit and explore the landscapes Chris and his team have showcased (rest assured, there are less punishing ways to get out among nature here!).

Check out the map route and also Chris' Strava stats for the full details of the bikepacking ride. You can also see highlights of the journey in Chris' short film, A Line in the Sand.

Photos provided by Jordan Rosen Photography.

a map of Iceland with a route marked out in red that runs from the Westfjords in Iceland to the far East

Chris Burkard pictured during his bikepacking ride across Iceland

a view of a road weaving down into a fjord in Iceland, with water visible in the far distance

an aerial view of a road in Iceland winding through the rugged landscape

an image of a man carrying a bike over his shoulders and walking through a river in Iceland

an aerial view of glacier rivers in Iceland

a group of four cyclists bikepacking their way through Iceland, crossing a bride over a river

an overhead view of four bikepackers making their way through the snowy Icelandic landscape

Four cyclists riding through a road which leads through a body of relatively still water

four cyclists pictured in the distance riding over a mountain on a dirt track

four cyclists pictured smiling directly into the camera, standing in front of a large boat which has been beached