Laugavegur & Fimmvörðuháls Trek | 6 Day Highlands Hiking Tour

You leave Reykjavík early and drive about 3 to 4 hours to Landmannalaugar, with views of the south coast and the volcano Hekla on the way. The Laugavegur trail starts here, but the first day is a warm-up loop through the Laugahraun lava field, the Grænagil gorge and the slopes of Bláhnjúkur. In the evening there is dinner at the hut and a soak in the natural hot spring, the only one on the trail.

The trail leaves through the Laugahraun lava field and passes the coloured slopes of Brennisteinsalda and the Stórihver hot spring, then climbs through narrow gorges and across yellow ridges in the Reykjafjöll mountains. After lunch in the black obsidian desert at Hrafntinnusker you drop through the steaming gullies of Jökultungur, where the ground is stained yellow and red by geothermal heat. On a clear day you can see the Mýrdalsjökull, Eyjafjallajökull and Tindfjallajökull glaciers. The day ends with a river to wade before the hut at Álftavatn.

The day starts with a stream crossing and then crosses the black sand desert of Mælifellssandur, passing the volcanoes Stórasúla and Hattafell with their moss-covered slopes. On clear days you can see Eyjafjallajökull and Mýrdalsjökull. Near the end you reach the Markarfljótsgljúfur canyon, about 200 m deep, and then Botnar, a green patch in the middle of the desert where the hut stands.

The final section of the Laugavegur trail leads through the Almenningar gorge, below the pointed shape of Mount Einhyrningur, with glacier views over Eyjafjallajökull and Mýrdalsjökull. As you approach Þórsmörk, sparse trees appear and slowly give way to dense birch forest. You arrive in the valley, surrounded by mountains and glaciers, having finished the Laugavegur trail.

The route follows part of the Fimmvörðuháls trail, starting and ending in the Þórsmörk valley. You walk through black sand plains and over lava ridges, in country shaped by the 2010 eruption of Eyjafjallajökull. Near the craters the ground is fresh lava and steaming vents. Magni and Móði, named after the sons of Thor, were formed in that eruption, and on a clear day there are views over Mýrdalsjökull and the highlands. The trail has some steep sections and loose gravel, so good boots and reasonable fitness are needed.

The last morning is spent in Þórsmörk. If the weather allows, you can climb the steep path up Útigönguhöfði, or take an easier walk to Húsadalur, or rest around the Langidalur hut. On the way back to the city the bus passes the Seljalandsfoss waterfall, and the group is back in Reykjavík in the early evening, at around 6:30 pm.