The Route into Nature: The Landscape of Mobility

Abstract

Nature is the principal attraction cited by tourists for visiting Iceland. The diverse natural attractions in various locations across the country make mobility essential for tourism. With driving being the main mode of transport, roads become central to visitors’ experience in the growing tourism sector. This chapter argues that the road has an often overlooked role in creating an understanding of the environment. The chapter sets out by looking at roads along the key trajectory of tourism along the Golden Circle leading to the waterfall of Gullfoss and the Geysir area, by investigating roadbuilding of the past and present in the national park of Þingvellir and how roads are represented through time. Road networks are a pragmatic infrastructure for creating connections but also become meaningful for how we understand the landscape around us. With the tourism sector largely emphasising individual attractions or destinations as part of the tourist experience, this chapter shifts focus onto routes, roads and landscapes, highlighting how roads become fundamental in constructing relations to nature through the transformation of the landscape and by enabling mobilities.