Litla Kaffistofan: Icelandia’s Northern Lights and Adventure Hub

Litla Kaffistofan is Icelandia’s adventure base just outside Reykjavík, serving as the starting point for its ATV experiences and as a seasonal Northern Lights hub and dark park. Situated close to the Hellisheiði plateau right beside the country’s main ring road, you’ll find it midway between the Icelandic capital and Hveragerði. The journey from the BSI bus terminal – Icelandia’s centralised transport and tour hub in the heart of downtown Reykjavik – can take as little as 20 minutes. It’s this convenience which makes it such an attractive proposition for travellers keen to sign up for activities taking place across the Hengill volcanic area. In this article, we’ll explore what to expect when you come to the Litla Kaffistofan Northern Lights and Adventure Hub and what might bring you here during your Iceland trip.

Do you want to learn more about Litla Kaffistofan? Its story is perhaps a familiar tale in rural areas across Europe. Fundamentally, its changing fortunes are linked to how road trips have evolved over the years. As cars travel greater distances at higher speeds, rest stops close to major towns and cities become redundant. That’s pretty much what happened to Litla Kaffistofan (the Little Café). The place first opened 66 years ago, on 4th June 1960.

Back then, it was an important pit stop for Icelanders travelling along the south coast, boasting a busy roadside café and also a service station. In this part of Iceland, the topography is exposed to the elements and conditions can change often. If bad weather rolled in, road conditions could become treacherous and so it was handy to have a place to retreat until things improved outside. Travellers could share updates about weather and road conditions while they waited for it to be safe enough to continue on with their journeys.

However, times change. The road quality improved and forecasting technology quickly became far more accurate than anecdotal reports. Drivers increasingly pushed on to Reykjavik, and Litla Kaffistofan’s popularity went into terminal decline. The place, most recently an Olis petrol station, closed its doors for the last time in 2025 after they moved to a new location that made better commercial sense. But fortunately, that’s not the end of the story. After a stylish makeover to bring it up to date, Litla Kaffistofan has gained a new lease of life as Icelandia’s adventure hub and a regular stop on its Northern Lights tours.

When scouting for somewhere suitable to become Icelandia’s adventure tour base, it was important that the place chosen could offer easy access into a remarkable landscape. Litla Kaffistofan was ideal: this former café ticked plenty of boxes, not least because it sat adjacent to the moss-covered rocks of Svínahraun lava field. A stone’s throw from Reykjavik, close to Hellisheiði and with a backdrop of the Hengill and Bláfjöll mountain ranges, the drama of the local scenery had sufficient wow factor to impress those who visit, making Icelandia’s Litla Kaffistofan Adventure Base a solid pick for anyone with a passion for outdoor activities.

The diverse terrain of Hengill geothermal area is perfect for a thrilling ride, but is also a window onto the future of our planet. Sign up for the Volcano Valley ATV tour from the Litla Kaffistofan ATV base and your guide will pause so that you can get a good look at the Hellisheiðarvirkjun power plant. They’ll discuss Iceland’s position as a leading nation for sustainable power as it harnesses the abundant geothermal energy that’s found in these parts. This area is the source of much of Reykjavik’s electricity and hot water. It’s also home to the pioneering Climeworks project, which is leading the way in carbon capture technology development, storing CO2 within the basalt bedrock.

Equally impressive is the Hveradalir geothermal area. It has a spooky quality, as steam rises through open vents in rocky ground stained with mineral deposits. The plopping of mud pools is further evidence of nature actively continuing to transform this landscape. Heat from under the surface is used to cook rúgbrauð, a deliciously dense and slightly sweet bread that’s best eaten as soon as it’s retrieved from the ground, still warm.

During these ATV tours from Litla Kaffistofan, riders will relish the chance to take a break from exploring the area’s off-road trails to snap pictures of the geothermal activity and admire views of the surrounding mountain peaks, immersed in the wild terrain. Here, Vífilsfell volcano towers above the surrounding lava field, a product of subglacial eruptions that occurred during the last Ice Age.

The area’s geology is consistently jaw-dropping from the palagonite rock that’s responsible for Vífilsfell’s distinctive shape to the gnarly lava and plunging rock crevasses that you’ll encounter at Draugahlíðar, whose name translates as Ghost Hill. Whether you believe ghosts and ghouls inhabit this area depends a lot on how vivid your imagination is, but regardless, there’s an eerie air about the place. In Hengill and Hellisheiði, even at Litla Kaffistofan, it’s hard to get your head around how different it is from Reykjavik, just 20 or so minutes away.

Ghosts aside, juxtaposed against these cutting edge energy developments and persistent geothermal activity are folklore tales of trolls and unsociable recluses. Squeezed between Vífilsfell volcano and the historic Ölfusskarð pass is another stop on the ATV tour: the Jósepsdalur valley. In fact, in the not-so-distant past, this part of Iceland had a somewhat mysterious – some might even have said sinister – reputation.

Legend has it that a troll made her home in a cave within the cliff face, but perhaps the most colourful resident was a blacksmith called Jósep who lends his name to this valley. He was prone to swearing – curses flowed freely from his mouth as he worked, turning the air blue. In fact, though no one knows quite how, the ground swallowed up the smithy and surrounding farm, leaving the place quiet, empty and desolate. Superstitious locals noted the absence of sheep and deemed it an omen, giving the area a wide berth. What would they have made of the buzz that characterises Litla Kaffistofan and the overall-clad tourists that have such fun here in this exact same place?

After dark, when the ATV engines fall silent, and the helmets and overalls are stacked neatly for tomorrow’s riders, Litla Kaffistofan takes on a new role. On a clear night out here in the countryside, beyond the reach of Reykjavik’s streetlights, the inky blackness sparkles with stars. Against this almost featureless backdrop, when the Northern Lights make an appearance, they appear vivid and bright, their greens, purples and reds easily discernible in the darkness.

If you’re eager to see this breathtaking celestial phenomenon for yourself from the Northern Lights hub at Litla Kaffistofan, chances are you’ll have already browsed online for a suitable tour. While doing so, you’ll probably have also noticed that most Northern Lights tours in Iceland, ours included, operate on a mobile basis, picking up expectant travellers in downtown Reykjavik. They motor around the surrounding countryside in search of a dark spot from which to stake out the sky, poring over weather apps and solar forecasts in the hope of settling on a spot over which the aurora will show up. There are advantages to this, most obviously having the flexibility to move around and ensure that visitors are unloaded in an appropriate site once the Northern Lights appear.

However, if you’ve ever participated in a Northern Lights tour, particularly one that takes place in the depths of winter, you’ll know how cold it can get if you have to hang around outside for long periods waiting for the display to peak. Feeling the cold creep up through the soles of your boots is soon forgotten once the Northern Lights show up, but activity can be highly sporadic, and you wouldn’t be the first tourist to retreat to the shelter of your group’s minibus when the aurora ebbs away and the skies go dark.

Actually, there’s no need to experience quite so much discomfort, and this is where the Litla Kaffistofan Northern Lights hub comes in. Most of our Northern Lights tours stop here when visibility in the area allows. When solar activity is high enough for a decent show, the green and purple ribbons and curtains that define the aurora are often visible over a wide area, which means that pausing in one place for a while is rarely disadvantageous. Visibility can impact sightlines, but this too is changeable as high altitude winds sweep away cloud to reveal those welcome clear skies.

It makes sense, therefore, to book a tour that can make use of a Northern Lights hub in Iceland, especially a cosy place where you can sit down and warm up with a hot drink in between spells outside watching the heavens. Icelandia has partnered with local brand Te & Kaffi, to offer high quality refreshments at Litla Kaffistofan – chocolate, coffee and tea are all on the menu. If you prefer to toast the magnificent display with an alcoholic beverage instead, you can also sample our aptly-named beer: Aurora Beerealis. Comfort counts for a lot on a long evening where by its very nature, activity is intermittent and unpredictable. Being able to use restroom facilities when you need to is a big bonus.

Close to the city yet – crucially – untroubled by light pollution, the dark park adjacent to Litla Kaffistofan is the ideal place to view this magical natural phenomenon. What a treat it is to be able to pop in and out as you please. At the end of the night, there’s no need for a long transfer to get back to the city, as you’re right on its doorstep.

Northern Lights tours from Reykjavik that stop at Litla Kaffistofan, coupled with Hengill and Hellisheiði ATV tours that start here, make this base an attractive proposition for visitors seeking to pair the convenience and amenities of the Icelandic capital with a chance to make the most of the spectacular scenery on its doorstep. We’d argue that you shouldn’t feel you need to choose between Litla Kaffistofan ATV tours near Reykjavík and Icelandia’s Northern Lights tours when you could, quite easily, do both.