Iceland Travel GuideLOCAL TRAVEL AGENCY IN ICELAND
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Iceland Travel GuideLOCAL TRAVEL AGENCY IN ICELAND
My trip
Talk to a local
Gunnuhver is a geothermal area on the southwestern tip of the Reykjanes peninsula, with boiling mud pools, steam vents and a boardwalk viewing platform. It is about 50 km (around 45–50 minutes) from Reykjavík and about 20 minutes from Keflavík Airport, free to enter, open all year, and most visitors spend 20–30 minutes there.
Gunnuhver sits on the Reykjanes peninsula, where the Mid-Atlantic Ridge runs through Iceland and the ground is thin and active. The area holds one of the country's largest mud pools, a roiling grey pit surrounded by steaming vents and sulphur-stained ground. Raised wooden boardwalks let visitors get close without stepping onto the unstable, superheated crust.
The whole area close to the Reykjanes lighthouse is known as Gunnuhver, after its biggest spring. The mud pool is the largest in Iceland, about 20 metres wide and boiling hard, and you hear it before you see it. Because the sea is so close, the groundwater here is seawater, which is unusual for a geothermal field in Iceland. Activity picked up noticeably in 2006.
This is a hot spring to look at, not to bathe in. Everything here is at or near boiling point, and the steam can scald. Stay on the paths and platforms and it is a safe and memorable short stop.
The peninsula has seen new volcanic activity in recent years, with eruptions opening up elsewhere on Reykjanes, so it is worth checking current conditions and any access changes before a visit. The nearby coastline is dramatic in its own right, with black cliffs, the Reykjanes lighthouse and the Bridge Between Continents, a footbridge over the rift between the North American and Eurasian plates, all within a short drive.
In Iceland there is a story behind almost every hill and hot spring, and this one is a ghost story. A few centuries ago a woman called Guðrún, known as Gunna, lived in a small cottage owned by a lawyer, Vilhjálmur Jónsson. Her neighbours suspected her of witchcraft, not least because of a cooking pot that always seemed to have something simmering in it.
When Gunna could not pay her rent, Vilhjálmur took the pot instead. Furious, she refused to eat and starved herself to death. On the way to the churchyard the men carrying her coffin felt it grow strangely light, and as the grave was dug a voice was heard: "No need deep to dig, no plans long to lie." Vilhjálmur went to the funeral. The next day he was found dead, bruised and with broken bones.
Gunna's ghost went on to terrorise the peninsula until the locals turned to a priest for help. He set a trap with a ball of yarn: the ghost took hold of the loose end, the ball rolled away, and she was pulled after it into the boiling spring. It has been called Gunnuhver, Gunna's hot spring, ever since. Some say she is still there, pacing the rim of the mud pool.
Reykjanes has had recent volcanic activity nearby. Check current road and area status before visiting, especially outside summer.
Never step off the paths. The crust is thin, the water under it is boiling, and the steam is hot enough to burn.
A car park and boardwalk viewing area. There are no cafés or shops on site; the nearest facilities are in Grindavík or at the Blue Lagoon area, when open.
Most visitors see Gunnuhver on a day trip from Reykjavík or on the way to or from Keflavík Airport rather than staying overnight nearby, though Grindavík and the Reykjanes area have some accommodation.
Yes, both entry and parking are free.
About 20–30 minutes is enough to walk the boardwalk and take in the views.
Yes, if you stay on the marked boardwalks. The ground beyond them is unstable and extremely hot.
Yes, it is close to the Bridge Between Continents, Reykjanesviti lighthouse and other geothermal spots on the peninsula.
It is named after Gunna, a woman whose ghost was said to haunt the peninsula until a priest tricked her into the boiling spring. Gunnuhver means Gunna's hot spring.
No. The water and mud are boiling and the steam can scald. It is a place to look at from the platforms, not a bathing spot.
About 20 metres wide, the largest mud pool in Iceland.
Tours and trips that include Gunnuhver, booked directly with a local travel agency in Iceland.
