Visit august 2020

On the last day of our 10 day roadtrip on Iceland, we decided to visit this nature reserve, even though the weather forecast wasn’t too good. From Selfoss it’s a two hour drive to Landmannalaugur. The last stretch(30 km) is F208 (a gravel road) from the north. This is the easiest road for small 4x4 cars with no river crossings. If you have a car with small wheels you leave it at the parking lot about 0,5 km from Landmannalaugur as the last river crossing might be too tough.
Lonely planet describes the area as mind-blowing with multicoloured, mountains, southing hot springs, rambling lava flows and clear blue lakes as one of Iceland’s most unique destinations and we agree. Part of Fjallabaki reserve includes the largest geothermal fields outside Vatnajökul. The place is great for hiking.
We opted for a circular route, clearly marked with white colors. It was nice route through a canyon, crossing lava fields and past some geothermal areas. Great views of the colorful mountains. The hike was 5 km/1,5 h, not very strenuous. If you are into hiking, you might try the 5 days hike from Landmannalaugur to Þórsmörk , called Laugavegurinn.

On the way we made a stop at Hnausapollur Crater. You can drive up to edge of the crater, it is about 200 meters up the hill from the road. It is small sign, easy to miss. It’s a clear bluish lake in the crater, very photogenic! It seems possible to walk the rim.
Another stop is at the small crater Sutur, which is clearly marked with a small car park. Walking up here is a short steep walk.

We left the park on the other trail, F225. The condition of this road is gravel as F208, but it is longer and includes river crossings, but we managed the crossings with our Nissan Qashqai 4x4. You better check the conditions before you go. The road is looping around Hekla, and we got a nice view of another famous volcano.

The landscape is very similar to the Laki area within Vatnajökul, variety of lavafields, some black and others green covered with moss. The Landmannalaugur area differ with more colorful mountains and geothermal fields. We wouldn’t mind seeing this on the list even though there are many similarities to Vatnajökul.

Bring your own food and drinks as there is nowhere to buy anything in Landmannalaugur.

 

 

### Randi & Svein Elias