{"id":2277,"date":"2026-10-08T14:15:52","date_gmt":"2026-10-08T14:15:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ice.travelblox.eu\/?p=2277"},"modified":"2026-10-08T14:15:52","modified_gmt":"2026-10-08T14:15:52","slug":"landmannalaugar-het-kleurrijke-startpunt-van-ijsland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ice.travelblox.eu\/en\/landmannalaugar-het-kleurrijke-startpunt-van-ijsland\/","title":{"rendered":"Landmannalaugar, Iceland\u2019s Colorful Starting Point"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Landmannalaugar is one of those places where, after hours of crossing black lava fields and icy rivers, you suddenly find yourself in a completely different Iceland: a valley filled with colourful mountains, steam rising from the ground and a hot spring waiting for you.<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n\t <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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Covered on this page:<\/h4>
  1. Where is Landmannalaugar?<\/a><\/li>
  2. Why are the mountains here so colorful?<\/a><\/li>
  3. The hot spring: a bath with a view<\/a><\/li>
  4. The best hikes around Landmannalaugar<\/a><\/li>
  5. The Start of the Laugavegur Trek<\/a><\/li>
  6. Accommodation and facilities<\/a><\/li>
  7. Leave only footprints behind<\/a><\/li>
  8. Your adventure starts here<\/a><\/li><\/ol>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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    Where is Landmannalaugar?<\/h2> \t

    Landmannalaugar sits at an altitude of around 550 metres in Iceland\u2019s southern Highlands, right in the middle of the Fjallabak Nature Reserve. Established in 1979, the reserve covers 470 km\u00b2. Its name literally means \u201cbehind the mountains\u201d<\/em>, and that\u2019s exactly how it feels: this is where you truly leave the inhabited coast behind.<\/p>\n

    It\u2019s about 180 kilometres from Reykjav\u00edk, roughly a three-hour drive. The final stretch follows the F-roads F208 and F225, unpaved Highland tracks with river crossings. They\u2019re only accessible by 4x4 or Highland bus and usually open from late June to mid-September.<\/p>\n

    The name Landmannalaugar means \u201cthe pools of the people of the land\u201d<\/em>. For centuries, local farmers used the hot springs here as a resting place when they went into the Highlands in autumn to round up their sheep.<\/p><\/div>\n\t

    \n panoramic view of Icelandic highlands with colorful mountains and river <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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    Arrival tip<\/h4> \t

    The drive to Landmannalaugar is an adventure in itself. Take your time on the final stretch along the F-roads and plan your arrival carefully, so you have a moment to settle in before setting off on your first hike.<\/p><\/div>\n\t <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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    Why are the mountains here so colorful?<\/h2> \t

    Landmannalaugar\u2019s rainbow mountains are made of rhyolite, a light-coloured volcanic rock rich in silica. Fjallabak is Iceland\u2019s largest rhyolite region. Minerals such as sulphur and iron turn the rock yellow, red and orange, while green moss covers the slopes.<\/p>\n

    Those colours are the work of Torfaj\u00f6kull, a central volcano capped by a glacier. The bedrock in the area is around 8 to 10 million years old, but the volcano has never fully gone quiet. After Gr\u00edmsv\u00f6tn, it\u2019s the country\u2019s most active geothermal area, with bubbling, hissing and steaming ground everywhere you look.<\/p>\n

    The most recent eruption took place in 1477. It created Laugahraun, a rugged lava field filled with shiny black obsidian, which now lies right next to the hut and campsite.<\/p><\/div>\n\t

    \n rainbow over volcanic landscape in Iceland <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n