Kerið Crater
Kerið is one of Iceland's most striking volcanic craters, a 6,500-year-old caldera filled with vivid aquamarine water and ringed by steep red and black volcanic rock. It sits right off Route 35 on the Golden Circle route, making it one of the easiest natural wonders in Iceland to add to a day trip.
A Volcanic Crater Lake on Iceland's Famous Golden Circle Route
Kerið formed around 6,500 years ago when a cone volcano exhausted its magma supply and the ground above collapsed inward, creating a deep bowl-shaped caldera. This makes it geologically younger than most of Iceland's craters, which is exactly why its slopes are still vivid shades of red and orange rather than the dark volcanic black found elsewhere. Over the centuries that followed, groundwater filled the basin and created the crater lake that visitors see today. The water's striking aquamarine colour comes from minerals in the surrounding soil, and the contrast between the crimson walls and the blue-green lake below is genuinely unlike anything else on the Golden Circle.
The site is small but well set up for visitors. A gravel path circles the rim of the crater, taking around 15 to 20 minutes to walk at a relaxed pace, with views straight down into the lake from every angle. A wooden staircase descends the western wall to the water's edge, where the scale of the caldera becomes much more apparent from below. The crater is about 55 metres deep, 170 metres wide, and 270 metres in circumference. In winter, the lake can partially freeze, which creates an entirely different but equally impressive scene.
Kerið sits along Route 35 in the Grímsnes area of South Iceland, about 15 kilometres north of Selfoss and roughly an hour's drive from Reykjavik. It is privately owned and charges a small entrance fee of around 600 ISK per adult, with free entry for children under 12. Parking is free and right next to the site. The visit fits easily into a Golden Circle day trip, either as a first stop heading out from Reykjavik or a final one on the way back.
