Evening Lava Tunnel & Northern Lights Tour

An evening that starts underground and ends under the sky. You visit Raufarhólshellir, one of the longest lava tunnels in Iceland, with a cave guide, and then drive on to dark places to look for the Northern Lights.

• Raufarhólshellir lava tunnel
• Northern Lights hunt
• Northern Lights photos
• Hot cocoa under the sky

Your day, stop by stop

2Raufarhólshellir lava tunnelAbout 45 minutes from Reykjavík you reach Raufarhólshellir, a lava tunnel formed about 5,200 years ago.

About 45 minutes from Reykjavík you reach Raufarhólshellir, a lava tunnel formed about 5,200 years ago. A cave guide gives you a helmet and head torch and leads you about 350 metres into the tunnel, on walkways in some parts and uneven natural ground in others. The walls are red, yellow and purple from minerals in the lava. The visit takes about an hour.

Read our Raufarhólshellir guide →

3Northern Lights huntBack on the bus, your guide follows the aurora and cloud forecasts and drives to a dark place, often Þingvellir, the Reykjanes peninsula or the South Iceland countryside.

Back on the bus, your guide follows the aurora and cloud forecasts and drives to a dark place, often Þingvellir, the Reykjanes peninsula or the South Iceland countryside. You get hot cocoa, and if the lights appear the guide takes a photo of you under them.

About the lava tunnel and Northern Lights tour

Raufarhólshellir is a lava tube about 1,360 metres long, formed when the outer layer of a lava flow cooled and hardened while molten lava kept running underneath. Parts of the roof have fallen in, letting light and snow into the tunnel. In winter ice forms on the floor.

After the cave the tour turns into a Northern Lights hunt. The guide picks the place on the night, based on the forecasts, so there is no fixed route.

The Northern Lights can never be promised. If you do not see them, you can join the Northern Lights minibus tour again for free for up to three years, subject to availability. The lava tunnel part has no free retry.

• Hiking boots
• Waterproof jacket
• Ice grips (October to April)

Questions people ask