Caught a bus for Landmannalaugar from Selfoss, a town in southern Iceland on the banks of the Ölfusá river. Was excited since I was going to the wild desolate interior of Iceland. Landmannalaugar will be my starting point for the Laugavegur trek, a trek which is supposed to be one of the finest in the planet, not well known back then.
Lunar landscape on one of our stops, on the way to Landmannalaugar. The bus went pretty fast, ran through some rivers (!!) and it was of course a 4x4.
Took a stroll around on another of our stops, the landscape was so wild and breathtaking!
A heart of green and flowers in the lunar landscape!
Eventually we found out that the brake was not actually a break but a stop because our bus broke down! Our driver took it really easy and sat down to relax, it wasn't that bad, even though we had to wait for two hours for the next bus to come pick us up, we walked around to explore the landscape.
This is where our bus broke down for two hours until the next bus came. As I am not an experienced hiker and I've heard many things about that hike (one guy died on the first day, very close to the hut due to low visibility going through a blizzard), trekking alone was not the best option. During that stop I met a nice French couple and it was decided we will trek together, lucky me!
Was nice to explore the place while waiting for the next bus to come pick us up.
Finally we arrived in Landmannalaugar. Its located in the Fjallabak Nature Reserve in the Highlands of Iceland. It is at the edge of Laugahraun lave field, which was formed in an eruption around the year 1477. It is known for its natural geothermal hot springs and surrounding landscape.
The path leading to the geothermal hot spring pool.
With a temperature of around 36-40 degrees celsius all year round, surrounded by rhyolite mountains, this is definitely one beautiful hot spring to bathe in!
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, perfect time to go out for a stroll and some photos.
These views of the beautiful multi-colored mountains was just an appetizer as I would have to cross them the next day, starting the Laugavegur trek.
Decided to sleep inside the lodge instead of camping as I had initially planned (kr2200 for sleeping in instead of kr800 for tent), was in need of some good rest for the start of the trek the next day. Clean toilets, showers, kitchen, the place was perfect! Built in 1696, it has room for 75 guests, is heated with geothermal heat and is open all year round, even in Winter. Checking the guestbook I found out the most of the visitors here were Swiss, French and Icelanders. Made myself at home, relaxed and decided to go sleep early, needed to charge my batteries, finally the next day we will be trekking!
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.
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