After the interesting (due to the breakdown) bus ride I finally reached Landmannalaugar. Having a camping ground and mountain hut, it would be my rest place for that night so I could start my Laugavegur trek the next day. Landmannalaugar is located in the Fjallabak Nature Reserve in the highlands of Iceland, at 550 meters altitude. Fjallabak takes its name from the many wild and rugged mountains around. It is at the edge of Laugahraun lava field, which was formed in an eruption around the year 1477 and is known for its natural geothermal hot springs. Upon arrival there was heavy rain but Icelanders say “if you don’t like the weather, just wait five minutes” and they are actually right! After a while the rain stopped and it was full sunshine with blue sky, perfect time to go for a stroll and take some photos.
A nice path going through some marshland would take you to the geothermal hot spring. With a temperature of around 36-40°C all year round, surrounded by rhyolite mountains, this was definitely one beautiful hot spring to bathe in! You would go in with your swimming suit and the natural pool was really big with enough space for everybody. You needed to be careful not to damage the vegetation by the pool and it was forbidden to tear mud from their banks.
From the camping site I caught some views of the beautiful multi-colored mountains. The area was so beautiful, as if in a dream. That was just an appetizer as I would have to cross those mountains the next day, starting the multi-day Laugavegur trek!
On a little hill you could see a small green hut, the “Sæluhús”. It was the original mountain hut built in 1927, which replaced the 1st hut from 1905 that had collapsed under the weight of snow on it’s first winter. It is now kept as a memorial structure. The first FÍ hut in Landmannalaugar was built in 1951.
I had initially planned to camp but in the end of the day I decided to sleep inside the hut. Back in 2006 it costed 2200isk for sleeping in the hut, instead of 800isk camping with a tent (checking the current prices now it’s 15800isk for the hut which you need to reserve months in advance and 3200isk for the camping, it even has a little grocery shop). I was in need of some good rest for the start of the trek the following day. The facilities were great, clean toilets, showers and a kitchen, the place was perfect! It had room for 75 guests (now 78 people), was heated with geothermal heat and was open all year round, even during winter. Checking the guestbook I found out that most of the visitors there were Swiss, French and Icelanders. Made myself at home, relaxed and decided to sleep early, needed to charge my batteries, finally the next day we would be trekking (together with the French couple)!
*All photos taken with a Canon Powershot S1 IS, 3.2 megapixels, my 1st digital camera.
Additional information
GPS coordinates for places in this post, click on them to be redirected to the exact point in google maps. Click on the names to be redirected to their official websites (if applicable).
Landmannalaugar Camping & Hut : 63°59’26.3″N 19°03’38.6″W
Landmannalaugar Hot Spring : 63°59’31.1″N 19°03’43.4″W
Landmannalaugar Sæluhús, original hut : 63°59’25.0″N 19°03’42.8″W
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