Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Horse Riding
July to mid-August. A one-hour tour costs Ikr7500 per person, the whole day Ikr23,000.
The horse farms in the plains around Hella also offer riding (usually longer trips) in and
around the Landmannalaugar area.
Hiking
If you're planning on doing day hiking in the Landmannalaugar area, stop by the warden's
house to purchase the useful day-trip map (Ikr300), which details all of the best hikes in
the region.
On cloudier days try the day-hike to the ill-named
Ljótipollur
(Ugly Puddle), an incred-
ible red crater filled with bright-blue water, and brown trout. The intense, fiery red comes
from iron-ore deposits. Oddly enough, although it was formed by a volcanic explosion, the
lake is rich in trout. The walk to the Puddle offers plenty of eye candy, from tephra desert
and lava flow to marsh and braided glacial valleys. To get there you can climb over the
786m-high peak
Norðurnámur
or just traverse its western base to emerge on the Ljótipol-
lur road (a 10km to 13.3km return trip, depending on the route).
When the weather is clear, try a walk that takes in the region's spectacular views. Climb
to the summit of rainbow
‑
streaked
Brennisteinsalda
- covered in steaming vents and sul-
phur deposits - for a good view across the rugged and variegated landscape (it's a 6.5km
round-trip from Landmannalaugar). From Brennisteinsalda it's another 90 minutes along
the Þórsmörk route to the impressive
Stórihver
geothermal field.
The blue lake
Frostastaðavatn
lies behind the rhyolite ridge immediately north of the
Landmannalaugar hut. Walk over the ridge and you'll be rewarded with far-ranging views
as well as close-ups of the interesting rock formations and moss-covered lava flows flank-
ing the lake. If you walk at least one way on the road and spend some time exploring
around the lake, the return trip takes two to three hours.
Guided hikes (through operators from Hvolsvöllur to Skógar areas) can also be a great
way to explore the area (
Click here
).
Sleeping & Eating
