Trek the Laugavegar Trail through stunning landscapes on this popular route from Landmannalaugar to the glacial valley of Thorsmork. Spend 5 days on the trail in a hut-to-hut trekking Iceland tour in one of the most breathtaking areas in the highlands. Hike through the third largest geothermal zone in the world. Observe the colorful yellow rhyolite mountains and pass by black-sand deserts. Arrive to the lush valley of þórsmörk, a popular day hiking destination. Spend the day here exploring the green oasis and see why it has become so popular. Each day you hike 4-7 hours with your guides pointing out the flora and fauna of the region. This has become a traveler favorite and is now a world-famous trek.
Highlights
Hike Landmannalaugar and the Fjallabak Nature Reserve geothermal area
Observe colorful rhyolite mountains, black-sand deserts, and lush valleys
Spend four nights in comfortable mountain huts during the five-day trek
Hike in the green oasis valley of þórsmörk and discover unique features
Activities that provide a reasonable level of physical challenge and elevate the heart rate. Focused on more active pursuits including multisport tours. Travelers may be active 5-7 hours total each day. Recommended for travelers with active lifestyles.
Arrive to Reykjavik where you transfer yourself to your hotel to rest up after your long journey. Arrive early in the day and arrange any number of additional excursions, or explore the town on your own.
Day 2: Reykjavik | Landmannalaugar | Hrafntinnusker
Take the public bus from BSI bus terminal at 07:00, that during the summer months drives the mountain tracks that lead to Landmannalaugar, passing by the Hekla volcano and other volcanoes in the Dómadalur area. Arriving in Landmannalaugar at noon, have lunch and then head south into the mountains. The trail takes you past small gorges, steaming hot springs and yellow mountain ridges. Arrival at Hrafntinnusker mountain hut, where you will stay the night, in the late afternoon.
Distance: 12 km (7.5 mi)
Walking time: 4 - 5 hrs
Ascent: 470 m (1540 ft)
From Hrafntinnusker, descend down in the gullies of Jökultungur with hundreds of steaming hot springs and mud pools. Up there enjoy fascinating views to the south to the Álftavatn area (Swan Lake), and the Mýrdalsjökull and Eyjafjallajökull glaciers. In the afternoon, arrive at Álftavatn hut where you stay the night.
Distance: 12 km (7.5 mi)
Walking time: 4 - 5 hrs
Descent: 490 m (1610 ft)
Day 4: Álftavatn - Emstrur
1 Breakfast, 1 Lunch, 1 Dinner
Pass at the foot of the green conic volcano of Stórasúla before entering the black deserts of Mælifellssandur. Heading towards another ancient and verdurous volcano, the Hattfell, enter the Emstrur region where farmers used to graze their sheep in summer. Before arriving at the Botnar hut where you stay the night, visit the magnificent Markarfljót canyon cut almost 200 m down into the rocks south of Hattfell.
Distance: 16 km (10 mi)
Walking time: 6 - 7 hrs
Descent: 40 m (130 ft)
Continue up and down through the small valleys and gullies of Emstrur, where the great Mýrdalsjökull glacier rises only a couple of kilometers away. As your hike is coming to an end for the day, descend into Þórsmörk’s (the woods of Thor) green valleys filled with arctic birch forests and colorful flowers. After arriving at the huts in Þórsmörk, top off this amazing adventure with a barbecue!
Distance: 17 km (10.5 mi)
Walking time: 6 - 7 hrs
Descent: 300 m (985 ft)
Day 6: Þórsmörk | Fimmvörðuháls
We start the hike in the magic landscapes of Goðalönd, the abode of the Gods. Nesting at the foot of two glaciers this is a wonderland of ridges and cliffs covered by a multitude of flowers and grasses. We continue up the hills leading to the pass of Fimmvörðuháls enjoying the view of the lava stream that flowed down from the Fimmvörðuháls volcano in March and early April 2010. As we gain height above Morinsheiði we come to the two craters Magni and Móði. We head back to Þórsmörk
with the magnificent view over the glaciers and this beautiful valley for our celebtration barbeque dinner and night in Básar hut.
Distance: 20 km (12.5 mi) Walking time: 6 - 7 hrs. Ascent: 900 m (2953 ft) Descent: 900m (2953 ft)
Spend the morning in Þórsmörk where you walk along one of numerous paths. For example, you can visit the Sönghellir cave (Song cave), climb up the small mountain of Valahnúkur from where magnificent view can be enjoyed, before taking the afternoon bus to Reykjavík. Arrival at Reykjavik BSI bus terminal where the trip ends at 19:20. Return to your hotel in Reykjavik this evening.
Day 8: Return Home
1 Breakfast
Spend this day exploring the town, or add on additional time exploring South Iceland or the West Fjords.
Apologies for the inconvenience. Prices for not yet published. Below per person rate based on previous season. Contact us to confirm upcoming season pricing.
Prices for are estimated based on inflation. Contact us to confirm pricing and availability for your desired departure date.
Initial deposit is 25%, and most travelers will call our office and pay the deposit with a credit card.
Final payment is due 70 days prior to departure by bank transfer, check, or credit card. Final payments by credit card may be subject to surcharge a maximum $20,000 charge
Our guide and driver were very good with their knowledge and were very helpful with our questions. It was a very pleasant visit that would have been impossible to do on our own. Hotels and restaurants were fantastic. The special places we got to go to, like the kitchens, were great. Enjoyed the entire trip!
Meyer Smolen
TrustScore 4.8 | 254 reviews
TrustScore 4.8 of 5
Based on 254 reviews on
1 day ago
The holiday of a lifetime. The company is Alaksa-owned and thhat makes a big difference to the experineces you get i.e. meet genuine First Nations tribes people. The amount of wildlife was beyond my expectation, and seeing everything on sucha small, intimate boat made it even more spoecial and unique.
Liz O
1 day ago
Adventure Life covered all the details in planning our trip to Ireland. Any questions we had were answered immediately. Any trip glitches, which always happen when traveling, were resolved immediately. There were no worries, just fun!
Kathleen Weller
1 day ago
It was an outstanding, up-close, educational vacation of nature, culture, history, animals and geology! It was everything they promised! Binoculars were plentiful on the boat, but I'm glad I brought my own. Food was excellent. Rooms had black-out shades. Pack/wear multiple layers of clothing (I carried a small backpack when off the ship). Crew were delightful and very accommodating! Remember to jump FEET FIRST first when taking the optional polar plunge! Spend as much time outdoors as you are able and ENJOY!!!
Janet Dutton
6 days ago
Excellent travel advice and service
This is my second experience working with Adventure Life. I’m sold. Jess Heuermann is an experienced traveler and provides a lot of useful information when planning a trip. These are the questions I like to ask at the outset - What’s it like to go here, there, what would you suggest, what do people report, can we add any additional side trips? Jess took the time to answer my questions and seek additional information to share with me. Petchie Colina is outstanding in helping with travel logistics and final preparations. Adventure Life has excellent guides and offers private guides and small group adventures. We enjoyed the opportunity to talk with the guides and drivers to learn more about their countries, cultures and histories. A highlight was having the guides pick local restaurants where we could share meals together. Highly recommend.
Claire Cordon
1 week ago
Our six-day tour in Iceland went smoothly with one exception. We had asked for two rooms each night. Somehow we were booked with one room with three beds. It could not be fixed at the first hotel in Reykjavik because the hotel was fully booked. Once informed of the problem, however, Adventure Life rebooked for two rooms for the remainder of the trip. As an 85-year-old traveler, I appreciated that one could participate at different physical levels at many of the stops. Iceland is a great place to visit but on the expensive side.