Torfajökull Volcanic System / Fjallabak Nature Res

Visit august 2020

On the last day of our 10 day roadtrip on Iceland, we decided to visit this nature reserve, even though the weather forecast wasn’t too good. From Selfoss it’s a two hour drive to Landmannalaugur. The last stretch(30 km) is F208 (a gravel road) from the north. This is the easiest road for small 4x4 cars with no river crossings. If you have a car with small wheels you leave it at the parking lot about 0,5 km from Landmannalaugur as the last river crossing might be too tough.
Lonely planet describes the area as mind-blowing with multicoloured, mountains, southing hot springs, rambling lava flows and clear blue lakes as one of Iceland’s most unique destinations and we agree. Part of Fjallabaki reserve includes the largest geothermal fields outside Vatnajökul. The place is great for hiking.
We opted for a circular route, clearly marked with white colors. It was nice route through a canyon, crossing lava fields and past some geothermal areas. Great views of the colorful mountains. The hike was 5 km/1,5 h, not very strenuous. If you are into hiking, you might try the 5 days hike from Landmannalaugur to Þórsmörk , called Laugavegurinn.

On the way we made a stop at Hnausapollur Crater. You can drive up to edge of the crater, it is about 200 meters up the hill from the road. It is small sign, easy to miss. It’s a clear bluish lake in the crater, very photogenic! It seems …

The Icelanders keep on having difficulties to provide catchy names for (possible) WHS - the Torfajökull Volcanic System / Fjallabak Nature Reserve is just another example. I will just call it Fjallabak. “Landmannalaugar” may even be a better choice, as it is the best known and most spectacular part. The Torfajökull volcano created this colourful landscape with its rhyolitic lava flows.

With a "normal" 2WD car, almost the entire interior of Iceland is off-limits: the roads here are unpaved and you have to traverse a river every now and then. So I booked a super jeep tour to Landmannalaugar to still be able to see some of the inland and this TWHS. The drive out there from Reykjavik took about 3 hours. After entering Fjallabak we first held a short stop at Ljótipollur, a crater lake with red colored walls and bright green spots. It is filled by groundwater.

At Landmannalaugar we arrived in a sun-drenched valley where fellow tourists walked around in t-shirts and shorts. You really arrive to something here: it is perhaps the busiest place in all of Iceland! Dozens of cars were parked there and just as many tents were pinned on the rocky surface of the campsite.

There are 2 major things to do here: enjoy one of the geothermal hot pools or go for a walk. I choose the latter and followed our tour guide for a hike of about 2 hours. The trails are marked so it is quite easy. …