Hengill Geothermal ATV Tour Near Reykjavík – 1 Hour

Ride across lava fields, explore Iceland’s most powerful geothermal area, and experience the raw energy of Hengill on this 1-hour ATV adventure near Reykjavík.

Tour Highlights

• 1-hour guided ATV ride on Hellisheiði
• Ride through historic Svínahraun lava field (from 1000 AD)
• Get amazing views of Hengill volcano and surrounding geothermal valleys
• Visit an active geothermal borehole
• See Hellisheiði Power Plant and Iceland’s renewable energy landscape
• Stop at historic Skíðaskálinn in Hveradölum
• Taste traditional geothermal-baked hverabrauð

Tour Description

Your adventure begins at Litla Kaffistofan base, just 20 minutes from Reykjavík. After a short safety briefing and gearing up in insulated overalls and helmets, you head out into one of Iceland’s most dynamic landscapes.

This tour takes you across Hellisheiði plateau and into the Hengill volcanic system, an area where geology, history, and modern innovation meet.

Ride Across Svínahraun – Lava from the Year 1000

Your ATV journey begins across the dark lava fields of Svínahraun, also known as Kristnitökuhraun or “The Lava of Christianization.”

Formed around the year 1000 AD during a volcanic eruption, this lava field was created at the same time Iceland adopted Christianity as its official religion. The ATVs travel through the sharp, rugged, and dramatic terrain on a utility road. Moss-covered black rock stretches out in all directions, a testament to the natural forces of fire and vegetation through time. This is the perfect setting for an exciting yet accessible ATV ride.

Climate Innovation in the Lava Fields

As you cross the plateau, you pass several world-leading climate and sustainability projects.

Climeworks operates direct air capture technology here, removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. In partnership with Carbfix, captured CO₂ is injected into basalt rock, where it mineralizes with time and turns into stone.

Nearby, VAXA Technologies grows microalgae using clean geothermal energy and recycled carbon dioxide — an innovative approach to sustainable food production.

Hengill – An Active Volcanic System

Hengill rises 803 meters above sea level and sits directly on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, where the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates slowly drift apart.

This makes the area one of the most geothermal-rich regions in Iceland with visible steam vents and geothermal formations.

At higher elevation, we stop near an active geothermal borehole, where you can safely witness powerful steam rising from deep underground, a vivid reminder that Iceland is very much alive beneath your wheels.

Hellisheiði Power Plant – Energy from the Earth

You will pass Hellisheiði Power Plant, one of the largest geothermal plants in the world. Here, natural heat from deep below the surface is used to produce electricity and hot water for Reykjavík and surrounding towns.

Steam rising into the cold Icelandic air creates dramatic white plumes across the lava fields. Large pipelines stretch across the landscape, carrying geothermal water between wells and turbines.

This is renewable energy in its rawest form, powered by volcanic heat.

Skíðaskálinn in Hveradölum

Your final stop is Skíðaskálinn in Hveradalir, a historic mountain lodge built in 1934 in a steaming geothermal valley.

The surrounding area is filled with bubbling mud pots, steam vents, and hot springs. Please stay on marked paths, as the ground can be hot and unstable.

Here you will taste traditional Icelandic hverabrauð, or “hot spring bread,” a sweet rye bread baked underground using geothermal heat. The dough is buried in warm earth near a hot spring and slow-cooked for hours.

This stop brings together local history, geothermal activity, and Icelandic food culture.

After this short stop, the tour returns back to Litla Kaffistofan.