Line © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), checked by Global Adventurer.
The walk
From the car park by the hut follow the Laugavegur west, up the short steep edge of the lava and across the rough, mossy obsidian of Laugahraun. On the far side the path turns south between the lava and the hillside to the steaming ground at the foot of Brennisteinsalda. Carry on up the Laugavegur to the junction at signpost 4, climb the summit path to the top and come back down. Walk north to signpost 3 by the hot springs and turn east down Grænagil, between the lava and Bláhnúkur, back to the hut.
It is 7.2 km round with 306 m of ascent; allow about 2½ hours. The grade is Hard: rough lava paths, short steep climbs and a loose summit path.
The hot springs beside the path at the foot of Brennisteinsalda are well over 45 °C: stay on the marked path. The lava, from a 15th-century eruption, is sharp, and the weather can turn wintry in any month; the circuit is usually clear from mid-June into October.
Landmannalaugar is reached only by highland roads, open in summer. The road from Sigalda has no unbridged rivers, but F224, the last stretch, is for four-wheel drives and fords two streams before the hut; smaller 4x4s park at P1, north of the fords, and walk over the footbridge. The summer buses stopped on 20 September.
Route drawn by Global Adventurer along OpenStreetMap paths (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), with figures worked out from it. Check the forecast and the ground on the day: paths change.
Good to know
- Laugahraun is a jagged obsidian lava field from the last eruption here, in the 15th century
- Brennisteinsalda, the sulphur hill, is streaked red, yellow, green and blue, with steam vents at its foot
- The way out follows the first stretch of the Laugavegur long trail
- The walk ends by the natural hot pool beside the Landmannalaugar hut
Summits on the way
- Brennisteinsalda 881 m · passed close by
Getting there
Start: Landmannalaugar car park by the hut. 63.99076, -19.05806
Directions to the start
Paths change, and the weather decides the day. The line and figures come from OpenStreetMap and our own checks; take a map, check the forecast, and turn back if it isn't right.