Four Days in Landmannalaugar: Planning a Highland Hiking Trip

Getting There: The F208 and the Approach

Landmannalaugar sits at the northern end of the Laugavegur trail in the Fjallabak Nature Reserve, roughly 180 km from Reykjavík. The northern F208 approach via Sigöldugljúfur and Hólaskjól is the most direct, but it includes river crossings and demands a proper 4x4; the southern F208 route from Hrauneyjar is gentler and suits cautious drivers. From the capital, plan on three to four hours each way. Many visitors sleep in Hvolsvöllur or Hella the night before, cutting the morning drive to around two hours and allowing an early arrival before the day-trip coaches fill the car park.

The mountain bus from Reykjavík's BSÍ terminal runs mainly in July and August and is the simplest option if you do not want to drive F-roads. Fuel up at Hvolsvöllur or Hella, carry cash-free cards, and check road conditions with safetravel.is before setting out. The reserve charges a small access fee at the boundary, and the Landmannalaugar car park fills by mid-morning in peak season. Book a hotel near Hella or Hvolsvöllur for the night before and after; the 43 searches recorded on our site last week were dominated by these south-coast bases, not by the highland huts themselves.

Day One: Acclimatise and Walk the Lava Fields

Arrive by midday and keep the first afternoon modest while your legs adjust to the altitude and the loose rhyolite. The classic short loop from the Landmannalaugar hut takes in the steaming Laugahraun lava field, the obsidian-black wall at Brennisteinsalda's foot, and the warm natural stream at the camp boundary where hikers soak at the end of the day. Allow two to three hours, wear boots with ankle support, and carry a waterproof layer; highland weather turns quickly even in July, when daytime temperatures hover around 10°C.

The mountain huts at Landmannalaugar and the adjacent campsite are the only beds at the trailhead, and both sell out months ahead for July and August. If you have not secured one, base yourself in Hvolsvöllur and drive in each morning, or split your stay: two nights down south, two in a hut. A hotel in Hella with a hot tub and a drying room is a sensible compromise for mixed-ability groups, and the drive back after a long hike is far kinder than an unlit F-road at dusk.

Day Two and Three: Brennisteinsalda and the Colours

The Brennisteinsalda ascent is the signature half-day walk: around three hours return, 200 metres of gain, and a summit ridge of sulphur-yellow, rust-red and moss-green rock with the Laugahraun lava plain spreading below. Start by 9am to beat the coach groups arriving from the south. The path is marked with stakes but braided in places; stay on the worn line to protect the fragile moss. From the top, the view across to the Vondugil valley and the distant Torfajökull ice cap is the reason most hikers rate this above the more crowded Bláhnúkur scramble.

Day three belongs to Bláhnúkur if you want the exposure and the panorama, roughly two hours up and down with some steep, unroped sections near the top. Skip it in rain or high wind. Otherwise, walk north along the path toward the Hrafntinnusker ice caves or take the easy circuit to the Ljótipollur explosion crater, which is quieter and just as photogenic. Either way, pack lunch and water: there is no shop at Landmannalaugar, and the hut sells only basic provisions in season.

Day Four: The Laugavegur Start and the Drive Out

Use the final morning for the first stretch of the Laugavegur, the 55 km trail to Þórsmörk. Even a three-hour out-and-back toward the Hrafntinnusker hut gives a taste of the highland plateau without committing to a full through-hike. If you are walking the whole route, arrange a bus transfer out of Þórsmörk in advance and leave your car in Hvolsvöllur rather than at Landmannalaugar, where parking is limited and the return logistics are harder to manage.

Drive out via the southern F208 to Hrauneyjar and the paved road beyond, which is easier on tyres and nerves than the northern route in wet weather. The best months for this itinerary are July and August, with late June and early September viable but colder and more unpredictable. For the final night, book a hotel in Hvolsvöllur or Selfoss, where the drive to Keflavík the next day takes under two hours. Of the options, a south-coast hotel with a drying room and an early breakfast is the one I would book.