Hiking an Erupting Volcano
Yes, you read that correctly! During our trip, we were able to hike to the actively erupting volcano in Iceland called Fagradalsfjall. We’ve gotten a lot of questions from friends & family when we shared this story so we wanted to share our first-hand experience & answer some of the most frequently asked questions.
Arguably the first thing people have said to us when we told them our plans was – why? Our answer – why not? When else were we going to have the opportunity to safely witness a natural phenomena such as a volcanic eruption!
How do you get to Fagradalsfjall?
Fagradalsfjall Volcano is about 40 minutes outside the city of Reykjavik. It’s actually really close to the Blue Lagoon & Keflavik airport (~20 minutes). There are no public transportation options so you will either need a rental car or book tickets with a local guide.
How difficult is the hike?
There are two hiking paths available. One that is slightly longer but brings you to a higher viewing point of the crater (Path C) and a slightly shorter hike (Path B) that brings you closer to the crater. (Path A unfortunately is closed due to lava flow now). We chose Path B and the hike was about 4 hours round trip (counting the time we stayed at the top). It’s important to note Path B had an exceptionally steep incline to it.
It was one of the most challenging hikes we’ve ever done due to the terrain and loose rocks. We saw many people with walking sticks, which we think would have been helpful had we had them! While it was challenging for us non-frequent-hikers, there were people of all ages doing the hike, ranging from seniors to children – so if you’re in good shape, it’s manageable! For more information on the different routes you can take, check out this website here.
Is it safe to hike to an erupting volcano in Iceland?
Iceland hasn’t lost a life to an erupting volcano in more than 100 years, according to one of our tour guides! They are pros when it comes to volcanology. They had a park ranger on site in the parking lot helping answer questions for people and warning signs for areas you shouldn’t go, as well as safety tips. As long as you followed the path, you were in a safe space.
We were far enough away from the crater to observe it without being in any immediate danger. If there are days where the volcanic fumes are high, they warn people not to hike, since it can cause you to pass out. Luckily, we were there on a clear, windy day, so the fumes were being blown away from us. If you’re going to do it anywhere, hiking to an erupting volcano in Iceland would probably be the safest place!
The Story
When I first arrived in Iceland for my work trip, the volcano had basically halted erupting. No one knew how long the eruption would go on for so this was something we knew might be a possibility for our trip. Online there is a live feed of the erupting volcano in Iceland, so we were constantly monitoring to see if anything would change. Lucky for us, the morning we had planned to hike the volcano, we woke up to lot of smoke bellowing out of it. It was a clear day and you could see it from the Blue Lagoon (which is where I was that morning for work).
It was around 1pm by the time we drove to the parking lot to begin our hike. There was still clearly smoke coming from the volcano so we were hopeful we’d be able to see some magma! After ~2 hours up steep inclines (with frequent breaks for water) and passing other-worldly terrains, we finally made it to the crater!
The Crater
It was far larger than I imagined it would be! You could see steam coming from the yellow spots of sulfur that was a product of earlier in the morning and the crater itself was still actively smoking. While we unfortunately didn’t see any flowing magma like we had hoped, it was still an incredible sight to behold, and it’s a moment we’ll never forget!
We stayed at the top for a while, hopeful we might catch something before deciding to make the trek back down and continue on with our road trip. We caught a few helicopters giving tours over the volcano, and the photo below really gives you perspective on how massive the crater really is in comparison to the helicopter.
I’m curious to hear from you – would you hike to an actively erupting volcano in Iceland? Comment on this post your answer!
