This is the real Icelandic highlands - remote, raw and unlike anywhere on the coast. On this private day tour you leave Reykjavik behind and head into the interior in a Land Rover Defender Super Jeep, a vehicle built for the rough gravel tracks and shifting terrain that lead to Landmannalaugar. No coaches, no crowds, no fixed script. The day belongs to your group alone.

Landmannalaugar sits inside the Fjallabak Nature Reserve and barely looks real. Mountains of rhyolite glow in red, ochre, green and black, steam drifts from the ground, and lava fields stretch out under wide highland skies. Along the way you stop at Sigoldugljufur - the Valley of Tears, where a turquoise river runs through a canyon lined with small waterfalls, and at Ljotipollur, a striking blue crater lake ringed by deep red slopes. You travel the scenic northern route, the most reliable way into the region and the one that opens earliest in the season.

At Landmannalaugar you have time to walk into the Laugahraun lava field and the colourful hills around it at a pace that suits your group, then ease into the natural geothermal hot spring - no changing rooms, no luxury, just warm water surrounded by mountains. Your guide knows the area and shares its geology, history and quieter corners as you go.

Because this is the highlands, nature sets the rules. The exact stops, the order and how long you linger all flex with the weather and road conditions on the day. That is the deal with the interior, and it is part of what makes it worth the drive.

Your guide meets you at your accommodation in the Reykjavik area, and helps you load any gear. Bottled water is available on request throughout the day.