Trekking the Icelandic Highlands : The Laugevagur Trail
The moment I saw those multicoloured mountains and dramatic “out of this world” landscape in a travel magazine, I knew that the Laugevagur Trail would be on the top of my must-hike list. It was unlike any journey we had ever embarked on and no matter how many pictures you see about the place or read about it, nothing prepares you for the raw, rugged, and wild beauty you encounter on the trail.
What makes The Laugevagur Trail so Special?
The Laugevagur Trail is the most famous Trek in Iceland and is usually a top-of-the-bucket list hike. Situated in the Icelandic Highlands with a 55km stretch from Landmannalaugar to Thorsmork. The trek took us around 4 days to hike through what I can only describe as an otherworldly landscape. The hike is classified as a moderate to the difficult trail that requires a moderate level of fitness. However, I recommend that you specifically train for it if you are not used to trekking long distances in rugged terrain.
Once on the trail, you will find yourself crossing terrains of black sand deserts with striking bright green mountains splattered far off in the horizon; the silence sometimes deafening in the raw beauty of the scenery unfolding before you. You will trek through rolling rainbow-coloured hills, ice-cold rivers, mossy fields, grey mud, steaming sulfur shooting out of the ground and if you are lucky, encounter blindingly white snowy landscapes in some areas.
Most people opt to hike from North to South from Landmannalaugar to Thorsmork like us with an additional option to continue to Skogar. The less fainthearted can also opt to start from South (Skogar) to North (Landmannalaugar).
Transportation and Accommodation
We took the bus from Reykjavik to Landmannalaugar (3 hrs) and back to Reykjavik from Thorsmork (1hr 35mins). This means that we had to adhere to a schedule and arrive in Thorsmork on time to not miss our transportation back to Reykjavik. You can stay in huts throughout the trek or opt to camp at the huts in designated areas with access to facilities. The huts are basic shared accommodations that you need to book in advance. They are equipped with a kitchen, showers, and toilets. Each hut experience was different, and this added to the uniqueness of the experience. We worried about the shared space experience, but we loved meeting like-minded people at the huts.
Day 1 & 2: Landmannalaugar- Alftavtn ( 24 km)
We arrived at Landmannalaugar, our eyes taking in the breathtaking scenery and the steaming geothermal spring just as it started to snow lightly. The first thing we did was check in with the rangers before we started our trek. The ranger welcomed us and informed us that we will need to stay at Landmannalaugar for the night because of the incoming snowstorm, something we had not planned for.
The next day, we walked for 12 hours straight, combining two days into one and stopping only for breaks of 5 mins a couple of times. We passed steaming sulfur pots that smelled like rotten eggs. I saw my mountains, my beautiful coloured mountains from the magazine half covered in snow! We passed snowy landscapes with blinding whiteness that sometimes my eyes played tricks on me, blurring the line between earth and sky. It felt like I was walking into nothing.
Arriving at Alftavtn, the hut was in a valley with a beautiful lake and had the cutest little restaurant with only a Moroccan Lentil Soup on the menu. A very expensive lentil soup I must add. My husband commented “that’s quite an expensive soup!” the guy serving us said, “well, it travelled mountains to get here”.
Day 3 - Alftavatn to Emstrur (16 km)
We decided to sleep in and start the day slightly later than planned to give us a very well-deserved break. It was a shorter distance today and felt a bit more relaxed. The sun barely sets in summer so nighttime trekking was not a worry for us. Today’s hike promised flatter surfaces, more unreal views, unreal contrast between the first part of the trek and what was to come next, and a couple of river crossings! The weather still looked okay for the day. My favourite part of today was the icy river crossings. How were the others crossing effortlessly with expressionless faces? My husband and I were the most vocal and expressive, our feet would get so numb that we would throw ourselves on the riverside and massage them.
The hike was flatter, in fact, it was a vast area of black nothingness. It was scattered with random yet stunning green mountains in the distance but nothing short of breathtaking. Today was a blessing. It took us a while to get to the huts as usual, but we got there with plenty of time to spare and rest.
Day 4 - Emstrur to Thorsmork ( 15km)
We woke up really early today and decided to head out at the break of dawn and give ourselves enough time to get to Thorsmork and not miss our bus ride back to Reykjavik. We tiptoed our way out of the huts to not wake the other hikers. Today we crossed a deep and narrow canyon with a river flowing beneath, we had lunch in a ravine and drank water from the river, we crossed another icy river until the landscape had more vegetation. We made it to the hut in Thorsmork with 20 mins to spare until the bus arrived. That was the end of our amazing journey and Laugevagur is easily one of my favourite hikes now.
Our trek was part of a 2 week road trip around Iceland and one that added so many precious memories and jaw dropping moments. We cant wait to trek the Icelandic Highlands again.