Landmannalaugar

Landmannalaugar, deep in the Icelandic highlands, is a surreal landscape of mountains streaked in rhyolite reds, oranges, greens and blues, cut by black lava fields and steaming ground, with a natural hot spring to soak in after a hike. It is the start of the famous Laugavegur trek and a jewel reached only in the brief summer.

Background

The area lies inside the Fjallabak Nature Reserve in the Icelandic Highland, at the edge of Laugahraun, a lava field left by an eruption in approximately 1477. It marks the northern end of the Laugavegur trail, and the Iceland Touring Association runs a mountain hut here for hikers. Day routes include a walk across Laugahraun to Brennisteinsalda, whose name means Sulphur Wave, a one-hour climb up Bláhnjúkur, the Blue Peak, and a four-hour hike to the crater lake Ljótipollur, the Ugly Puddle. Since the 2024 season, drivers in summer have needed a parking reservation each day between 8 AM and 3 PM, and only a limited number can be booked in advance.

Source: Wikipedia, "Landmannalaugar"

What you'll find

• The rainbow mountains - the rhyolite peaks streaked in extraordinary colours.
• The natural hot spring - the warm stream to bathe in among the mountains.
• The lava field - the black Laugahraun lava beside the camp.
• The Laugavegur trail - the celebrated multi-day trek starting here.

When to go

The short highland summer from late June to September, the only time the roads and huts are open; outside it the area is snowbound and unreachable. Even in summer weather is changeable.

Before you go

It is genuinely remote, reached only by rugged 4x4 fording rivers or by highland bus, not an ordinary car, and only in summer. Weather turns fast and cold at altitude. The Laugavegur trek is a serious multi-day undertaking.

Nearby

The Laugavegur trail leads to Thorsmork; the highlands and Hekla volcano spread around.

Key facts