LANDMANNALAUGAR

Landmannalaugar is in the southern highlands of Iceland. It sits within the Fjallabak Nature Reserve, surrounded by the untamed wilderness of the centre of the island. Those embarking on the Laugavegur trail will find Landmannalaugar at the north end of the popular hiking route.

It is possible to drive to Landmannalaugar, but you will need to travel by 4x4 as the roads are mostly unpaved and sometimes require fording glacial rivers and bumping over rocky terrain.

You can join a guided adventure tour to Landmannalaugar from Reykjavík if you don’t want the hassle of hiring a 4x4. Guided walks along the Laugavegur trail are a great way to see the hidden wonders of Iceland’s highlands.

Landmannalaugar is around 180 kilometres (111 miles) from Reykjavík and there are a few ways to reach this isolated spot from the capital city. The fastest way is through the west of Iceland, via the narrow, unpaved f-26 and f-208 roads.

You follow the Route One road past Selfoss and join the Route 30 road, turning onto Route 32 before joining the f-26. Depending on road conditions, the drive from Reykjavík to Landmannalaugar takes around three and a half hours.

With natural, geothermally heated pools you can bathe in and an ethereally beautiful landscape of shifting colours and unique geology on show, visiting Landmannalaugar is definitely worth it.

The area is especially beloved by Iceland’s hikers and walkers, so if lacing up your boots and getting out in the unspoiled wilderness is your thing, you shouldn’t miss Landmannalaugar.

The only way to reach Landmannalaugar (if not via a multi-day hiking trail) is along the unpaved, narrow f-roads into Iceland’s rugged interior. These mountain roads often involve fording rivers, bumping over ravines and rocky inclines and even driving across sand.

A 4x4 is essential and driving to Landmannalaugar by normal car is not possible. Due to the Landmannalaugar weather, the roads are only accessible in summer – snowfall and ice in the winter make them impossible to pass, even with a 4x4.

The Laugavegur trail is around 55 kilometres (34 miles) long and hikers generally allow three or four days to complete the route. The really hardcore hikers can tackle it in two challenging days, but since the way is marked with waterfalls, mountains and ethereal mineral formations in the hills, you might want to slow down to take it all in.

There is a series of mountain huts for overnight accommodation along the way. Guided tours of the Laugavegur trail are available so all you have to think about is putting one foot in front of the other and enjoying the open landscape.

If you are driving to Landmannalaugar, you can follow hiking trails through this other-worldly landscape that are as short as half an hour. After making the long and difficult drive, most people want to spend a little longer – perhaps soak sore muscles in one of the natural hot springs along the trail and enjoy hiking for a couple of hours before returning to the city.

Landmannalaugar is free to access and you can follow miles and miles of hiking trails without paying to access anything. If you choose to spend the night in a Landmannalaugar mountain hut, a bunk costs around 9000 ISK (US$65) a night.

A summer trek along the Laugavegur trail doesn’t require any specialist equipment like crampons or ropes, but you might want to bring walking poles to help you up the steep inclines.

Whether you’re embracing the outdoors with a Landmannalaugar camping adventure or staying in huts, you’ll need to bring a sleeping bag with you and plenty of provisions – food and drink options are pretty much non-existent along the trail.

One thing that the trail has in abundance is drinking water – you can fill up your water bottle at any of Iceland’s glacial rivers or springs along the way. An average level of fitness is required and you should prepare to walk the Laugavegur trail by tackling a few long-distance walks with climbing a few days in a row to get used to a multi-day itinerary.

The Laugavegur trail is fairly challenging and is definitely rewarding, but it is one of Iceland’s easier routes. The most difficult hike in Iceland, certainly in terms of ascent, is the climb to the top of Hvannadalshnjúkur – Iceland’s tallest peak.

This hike is only achievable in the middle of summer when the long hours of daylight mean you don’t have to descend in the dark. The entire hike takes around fifteen hours to complete and involves an elevation of around 2,110 metres.

The trail is only open for a short window each year – usually between late June and the end of August. During that window, it is estimated that around 10,000 people hike the trail.

So it is not as crowded as some of the more famous multi-day hiking routes in Europe, and you can still feel very much as though you’re in the wilderness, unspoiled by human interference.

However, spaces in the mountain huts and at campsites do fill up, so it is essential to book your Laugavegur accommodation in advance.

You do not need a guide or a permit to hike the Laugavegur trail – you can navigate the way yourself, but you must book overnight stays in the mountain huts or campsites in advance.

There are plenty of guided walking tours of the Laugavegur trail available with all the logistics sorted out for you including transfers from Reykjavík, accommodation along the route and a guide to show you the way.

For a nice balance between the two, consider a self-guide hut-to-hut Laugavegur trek where a tour company takes care of the boring logistics like transport and accommodation and you have the freedom to navigate your own way between each point.