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- Landmannalaugar rhyolite hills and hot spring pools — The neon-pastel mountains here are what people picture when they think “Icelandic highlands”: steaming vents, colorful banding from volcanic minerals, and a natural hot pool you can actually soak in after a long day. The mix of geothermal heat, bright rhyolite, and easy access from the trailhead makes this a uniquely immediate, almost surreal welcome to the route. (Personal favorite — nothing beats an evening dip with those colors around you.)
- Hrafntinnusker obsidian and geothermal pass — A high, windswept saddle dotted with black glass shards (obsidian), steaming fumaroles, and stark rocky ridgelines. It feels otherworldly — lunar and volcanic at once — and it’s a real “you’re in the middle of geology” moment that most lower-elevation
- Landmannalaugar rhyolite hills and hot spring pools — The neon-pastel mountains here are what people picture when they think “Icelandic highlands”: steaming vents, colorful banding from volcanic minerals, and a natural hot pool you can actually soak in after a long day. The mix of geothermal heat, bright rhyolite, and easy access from the trailhead makes this a uniquely immediate, almost surreal welcome to the route. (Personal favorite — nothing beats an evening dip with those colors around you.)
- Hrafntinnusker obsidian and geothermal pass — A high, windswept saddle dotted with black glass shards (obsidian), steaming fumaroles, and stark rocky ridgelines. It feels otherworldly — lunar and volcanic at once — and it’s a real “you’re in the middle of geology” moment that most lower-elevation trails don’t offer.
- Black sand deserts and glacial rivers (the outwash plains) — Wide, empty basalt sands crossed by braided, turquoise glacier melt streams—photogenic and humbling. The raw contrast between powder-black ground and milky blue rivers, plus the occasional bridge crossing, gives the trail a dramatic, ever-changing character you won’t find on wooded or alpine hikes.
- Álftavatn and Ljótipollur crater lake — Álftavatn (Swan Lake) is a calm alpine waterbody that reflects the surrounding peaks; birdlife can be abundant and campsites here have great views. A short detour to Ljótipollur reveals a red-walled crater with an impossibly turquoise lake — that red vs. blue contrast is pure postcard material and a neat geological side note.
- Þórsmörk valley’s birch forests and glacier panoramas — The trail finishes in this lush, sheltered valley where mossy birch woods sit under towering glacier tongues and jagged ridges. It’s the dramatic greenery-between-ice payoff after the barren highlands: peaceful trails, glacier views (Eyjafjallajökull visible on clear days), and a real sense of arrival.
Spotted a mistake or missing something? Contact us.
Lava Show Vik Admission Ticket
Sólheimajökull Glacier Hike – Adventure in a Small Group
Quad Bike Tour on Black Lava Sands from Mýrdalur
Kayaking on the Sólheimajökull Glacier Lagoon
Thorsmork Super Jeep
Sólheimajökull Ice Climbing and Glacier Walk
Glacier Adventure at Sólheimajökull Private Tour
Thorsmork Hike Day Tour
Thorsmork by Super Jeep with Optional Hike
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Hi, I’m Johan (Netherlands 🇳🇱), the creator of TakeYourBackpack. Over the past decade, I’ve backpacked through 80+ countries across six continents, gaining extensive experience with independent travel, long-term trips, and overland routes.