Landmannalaugar is, was and will remain my dream destination in Iceland. If it wasn't for my knees issue, I would have done a few days hiking trips from here to other areas to explore the highlands of Iceland. I have promised my son a hiking trip to Landmannalaugar when he is old enough, yet another excuse to go back there now. This blog is written to help you know more about Landmannalaugar, how to reach there and what are the facilities like for your camping and day hiking adventures. At the end of the blog is a gallery where you can see photos of the campsite, campground, facilities and surrounding areas.

Why and When to go to Landmannalaugar?

Landmannalaugar is land of many faces, the journey to arrive there itself is very rewarding to the eye of nature lovers. Lava fields with green moss on them, charcoal colour black mountains with a hint of green, massive black rocks and sand, green pastures, mountains with many shades of brown and red, geysers and hot springs for a good bath are the highlights for me. The scenery changes after every few hundred meters (if not meters). In short, the place is extremely photogenic, and that's all a landscape photographer desires!

Summer is the best time and may be the only time to go to Landmannalaugar for tourism, days are long and you can explore it to your heart's content. In winter, even if you reach there with special vehicles, there won't be much to do. Summer in Iceland, especially the highlands, doesn't mean hot days. When I went there in August 2018, the warden of the campsite told me that they only had three days in the entire summer when the temperature went up to 20 degrees Celsius during the day. I will say that end of summer season is more unpredictable than anything else, despite good weather forecast, my three days in Landmannalaugar were cold and rainy. It however doesn't mean that you mustn't go in August, or there weren't many people there, the place was full.  Prepare for cold weather and rain, keep an eye on the weather as sometimes longer walks are not suitable when it is windy and stormy, speak to the warden for guidance.

How to get to there, Bus Transfer vs. Self Drive?

There are many bus services that run to Landmannalaugar from Reykjavík, I booked the tickets via Reykjavík Bus Excursions on the internet in advance. I was staying in City HI Hostel, and fortunately they had a pickup service from the hostel (City HI Hostel and Reykjavík Campsite are adjacent to each other and bus parks outside them). The bus not only picks from sites within Reykjavík, but also stops at a few gas stations and hotels en route to pick passengers. Their website displays all the pickup points while you make your booking. I took the 12:30 PM bus, and we arrived in Landmannalaugar at about 5:30 PM. The bus crosses all the rivers and drops you right in front of the campsite. The ride can be very bumpy in places, so my advice would be to keep delicate items on-board instead of placing them with other bags at the bottom of the bus. The bus is comfortable and can be full at times. On may way back, the bus was jam packed. Because I decided to leave the campsite a day earlier, as soon as the bus arrived, I spoke with the driver and made arrangements for using my ticket a day earlier. If I hadn't spoken to him on time, I would have missed the spot in the bus due to the number of people wanting to do the same. Speak with the driver if you don't have a booking, I believe they do issue tickets on spot.

If you are going in your own vehicle, note that the roads to Landmannalaugar are F-roads, which means that these are dirt roads suitable for 4x4 vehicles. Don't try your luck with normal cars, you might be able to go a bit far in, but there are a few river crossings on the way. If it is rainy, the dirt roads can turn into mud very quickly. My advice would be to only hire a high clearance 4x4, not a small Suzuki Jimmy!

Facilities at Campsite

For a campsite in the middle of nowhere, I would rate the showers, toilet, eating and dish-washing area as satisfactory (photos of the facilities in the gallery at the end of the blog). As compared to others in Iceland, Landmannalaugar has a very basic campsite but it does the job. Toilets and showers have a section for men and women, but because of the queues, I often saw women jumping into the men's section. I felt that for a busy place, the staff should have cleaned the toilets more often. There is no proper kitchen, everyone gathered in the eating area and made their food on the tables. The place can get real crowded, and it feels more so when it is raining. I even saw people making their food in the campground because of that, which can be an uncomfortable experience especially when the wind is blowing (you can cover your stove from the sides using rocks). There is a small but expensive bus shop called Mountain Mall, you can buy snacks and coffee from there. I also saw ambulances, rescue and medical staff there on standby. If you are not staying at the campsite and haven't paid for it, you are required to pay fee to use the  toilets. They give you a wrist-tag that you have to wear that someone at the entrance of the toilets might check (although that only happened once in my three day stay there when a few buses arrived). Reception and the shop accept credit cards!

Accommodation: Tent vs. Hut

In order to stay at the campsite, you need to pay a fee per day at the reception. If your stay is longer than one day, I suggest not paying all fee in advance, rather pay each day in case your plans change. My plans changed, and the warden told me that campers often change their plans on account of weather, fee is non-refundable. It is important to know that the campground is quite hard in places. If you can, bring a mallet, I saw people using rocks as well, don't worry, there are plenty rocks available there. After you have erected the tent, place some big rocks on the pegs in case the wind blows. Feel free to use rocks to put on the tent cover to prevent the wind sneaking in from sides.

You can also stay at the huts, but the booking must be done months in advance to avoid disappointments. I didn't go inside the huts, but a peak through the window made me realise that huts would have been more comfortable, but I was after the camping adventure. It's a personal choice!

Day Hikes

There are maps for sale at the reception if you want to do day hikes and there are maps on big boards displayed outside the reception area as well. Should you buy the map? Well, as a reference yes, but if you didn't, for day hikes, you will easily survive without it. You can also use hiking and tracking apps, they are super useful. I found that even the longer hikes were well marked, but you can also use online apps to find your way, there are signals in Landmannalaugar, can you believe that!

As  you can see on the map below, there are a few days hikes that you can do in Landmannalaugar, I recommend doing the following hikes:

Mount Blahnjukur (Blue Peak): This is a hard to miss blue-shaded mountain in the south-westerly direction of the campsite, you can see the hiking trail from the campsite. As you can see in the photo below, there is a small river crossing just before you start the climb, so be prepared to take your shoes off or hop through dry patches. It is a steep hike and I suggest you not only keep a few hours aside, but also use hiking sticks other than snacks and water in your backpack. The reward however is higher than the actual height of the mountain, 360 degree views are breathtaking. The hike can be turned into a loop as well, which is approximately 5 km long. The loop brings you in the Laugahraun Lava field and back to the campsite. In my three days stay there, I didn't see many folks going up there.

Laugahraun Lava Field: This is an extremely pleasant and easy to do hike that start from behind the campsite (see the map), I really enjoyed going through the lava fields and then to a few fumaroles at the Brennisteinsalda volcano. You can go further up Brennisteinsalda, which is quite steep, or decide to turn back and go through the lava fields again, but this time keep to your right instead of coming back from the same path.

Hot Spring

The pool is difficult to miss when you are there, it can be very busy at times. As you arrive at the pool, quickly dip your hands in the water first and check the temperature, you don't want to get burnt! There is a spot at the spring where you can hang your clothes and towels, but I also saw people just running back to their tents and huts with a wrapped towel and clothes in hands. Unfortunately I wasn't feeling well, bathing there would have made me warm, but I feared getting cold afterwards while putting my clothes on. In retrospect, I should have jumped in, but I guess you make bad decisions when sick!

I hope you found this blog useful. Happy Camping and Hiking in Landmannalaugar!

Muji