Hrunalaug

Hrunalaug is a spring on private farmland near Fludir that was built up with stone walls generations ago for washing sheep and for the farm's own bathing, with a small turf-roofed shelter beside it. It holds perhaps a handful of people at a time in water around 38 to 40 degrees. Photographs spread it far beyond what it can carry, and after years of crowding, damage and litter the landowners fenced it, put in a fee and rules, and at times have closed it altogether. Visiting well here means arriving in a small group, paying, changing in the hut rather than the open, and leaving quickly if others are waiting.

What you actually see

• A stone sheep-washing pool - built by the farm long before tourism.
• Water around 38 to 40 degrees - warm rather than hot.
• Room for only a few people - the reason crowding became a problem.
• A working farm around it - fenced, charged for, and rule-bound now.

When to go

Year round; winter evenings are the quietest. An hour.

Honest expectations

This is tiny and often occupied, and waiting your turn in cold wind is the common experience. It is private land, the fee is not optional, and access has been withdrawn before. There is one changing hut and no other facilities.

Nearby

Fludir and its Secret Lagoon are minutes away; Geysir is north.