Landmannalaugar
Landmannalaugar, meaning the People's Pools, is the most visited destination in the Icelandic Highlands, sitting at around 600 metres elevation in the Fjallabak Nature Reserve in South Iceland. It is most immediately striking for its rhyolite mountains, where oxidised iron and mineral variation produce hills in shades of pink, rust red, yellow, green, and purple that look unlike any other landscape in Iceland and, for many visitors, unlike anything they have seen anywhere. A natural geothermal pool sits beside the main campsite and hut, where hot spring water mixes with a cool mountain stream to create a bathing temperature of around 36 to 40 degrees Celsius. The area is also the northern trailhead for the Laugavegur, Iceland's most famous multi-day hiking trail, which runs 55 kilometres south to Þórsmörk.
Iceland's Pearl of the Highlands, Where Volcanic Rhyolite Turns the Mountains Pink, Green, and Purple
Landmannalaugar sits within the Fjallabak Nature Reserve, a protected area of 470 square kilometres in the Southern Highlands, centred on Iceland's largest rhyolite landscape and its second most geothermally active area after the Grímsvötn system beneath Vatnajökull. The coloured mountains result from the unusually high proportion of rhyolite in this area compared to the basalt that dominates most of Iceland. Rhyolite is a silica-rich volcanic rock that weathers into different colours depending on its mineral composition: iron oxidises to produce reds and yellows, chlorite creates greens, and the mixing of minerals across different eruption layers produces the streaked, multicoloured hillsides that make Landmannalaugar's mountains so visually arresting. Brennisteinsalda, meaning Sulphur Wave, is the most photographed peak in the area at 855 metres, its flanks striped in yellow, red, and green above actively steaming vents. Directly below it, the Laugahraun lava field was produced by an eruption in 1477 and now spreads across the valley floor in a jagged black expanse that visitors cross on foot to reach the geothermal pool.
The natural geothermal pool at Landmannalaugar is free to use and is one of the most popular wild bathing spots in Iceland. Hot spring water seeps from the ground and meets a cold mountain stream, and the temperature across the bathing area varies from uncomfortably hot near the source to a comfortable 36 to 40 degrees further downstream. It is busy during summer days and the best times to visit are early morning or late evening. There are no facilities at the pool itself beyond basic changing areas. The mountain hut operated by the Icelandic Touring Association serves the campsite and provides basic food, toilets, and emergency shelter. The hut warden can provide current trail conditions and weather information, which changes rapidly at this elevation.
Landmannalaugar is accessible only by F-roads, with F208 from the south and F225 from the west being the primary routes, both requiring a 4WD vehicle. The roads typically open in mid to late June and close again in September or October depending on conditions. A daily bus service runs from Reykjavík in summer and takes around four to five hours, making it possible to visit without a 4WD. Guided super jeep day tours from Reykjavík are also widely available. The Laugavegur trail departs from the campsite area and takes three to four days to complete to Þórsmörk, with mountain huts at regular intervals. Day hikes from Landmannalaugar itself include the Bláhnúkur summit at 943 metres and the Grænagil canyon, both accessible without a guide.
