3-Day Highlands Hike: Landmannalaugar, Emerald Ridge & Háifoss
Overview
Available languages
3 days
Mobile ticket
Landmannalaugar, or the 'People's Pools' is known for its colorful volcanic rock mountains and lava fields and it`s home for many hiking enthusiasts during the summer season.
Whatever you are: a hiking enthusiast, geology geek. photography maniac this hike will make you feel like walking on a magical painting!
Additional Info
Service animals allowed
Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
Not recommended for travelers with mobility impairments
What To Expect
Scenic drive to Landmannalaugar, Thjórsárdalur valley, Frostastaðavatn, Ljótipollur
Accommodations
Overnight in mountain huts
Food and Drinks
LUNCH
Lunch
DINNER
Dinner
Thjorsardalur Valley
You are picked up from your arranged meeting point in Reykjavik with a scheduled bus and drive through the beautiful Thjórsárdalur valley, Hekla Volcano towards Landmannalaugar.
Ljotipollur Lake
Our first hiking destination - Ljótipollur lake (it means ugly puddle). Fun fact - despite its name this lake is ranked as the 42nd most beautiful crater lake in the world!
Prepare your cameras for a second amazingly beautiful lake surrounded by surreal landscapes and colorful rhyolite mountains! After enjoying your first highlights of Icelandic highlands, we head to our mountain hut.
Brennisteinsdalda, Vondugil & Suðurnámur Rhyolite mountains
Accommodations
Overnight in mountain huts
Food and Drinks
BREAKFAST
Breakfast
LUNCH
Lunch
DINNER
Dinner
Today we will hike to the peak of a 200,000-year-old mountain Suðurnámur which is very rich in rhyolite minerals! On our trail to the mountain peak, you will enjoy the colorful peaks contrasting with verdant greens, blues, deep golds, and sometimes vibrant reds.
Laugahraun lava field, which was formed in an eruption around the year 1477 where basalt prey from a magma chamber under Bárðarbunga flowed southwest through the Veiðivatnasprunga and all the way into the roots of the Torfajökull volcano.
Bláhnukur Volcano
Food and Drinks
BREAKFAST
Breakfast
LUNCH
Lunch
After enjoying our breakfast buffet it`s time for a 3,5-hour hike to Bláhnukur volcano! The hiking trail will lead us to the top from where you can take the best panoramic pictures of Landmannalaugar landscapes and even see five glaciers! (in good visibility) After coming down we will enjoy a short break before we board the bus back to Reykjavik, we will arrive to the city around 9:00 pm.
Options
3-Day Highlands Hike: Landmannalaugar, Emerald Ridge & Háifoss
Pickup included
What‘s Included
Pick-up & drop off from Reykjavík
Accommodation in mountain huts
Baggage transportation
Swimsuit & Towel
Pickup points
Select a pickup point
Cancellation Policy
If you cancel at least 6 full day(s) before the scheduled departure time, you will receive a full refund.<br>If you cancel between 2 and 6 day(s) before the scheduled departure time, you will receive a 50% refund.<br>If you cancel within 2 day(s) of the scheduled departure, you will receive a 0% refund.
Reviews
20 reviews
Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor
Unique experience
Romantikerin2022,Jun 22, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Very nice tour, even though not all hikes were possible due to the weather. Our very experienced guide Hjalti always found suitable alternatives that were at least as spectacular but perhaps could be considered more of a hidden gem. The cabin is clean and cozy. Cooking, eating, and cleaning up together is part of the communal experience and perfectly rounds off the tour.
Beautiful Icelandic Views
Sgaston2314,Jun 21, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00This hike was amazing, beautiful scenery, knowledgeable guide, good food and nice atmosphere. The hut was clean, as well as, the restrooms. Definitely a good value for the money.
Highly recommended this hiking tour
weizT4356DB,Aug 21, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Highly recommended this hiking tour. Have enough time to enjoy the fantastic landscapes of highland and not too tired. Our guide-Heiðdís (hope spell right 2025-08-08 tour) was kind and experienced, she took care of the whole group during the tour and cooked delicious meals for us. felt so luck to have her as our guide. Our group was blessed with mother nature to have 3 wonderful days in highland.
Fantastic time; loved our guide; great experiences
784555,Jul 29, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00We had a fantastic time. A great tour. Very active. Lots of hiking and many things to see. Iceland is beautiful. We also did the ring road 6-day tour. Tour guide Vjeran was absolutely superb, no one could have been better. I'd recommend asking for him by name. He was very knowledgable but also fun. He put SO much effort into the tour. He's also a real outdoorsman; for example, in the winter he teaches ice climbing. He's the real deal, as they say. By the way, we also did the Arctic Adventures helicopter tour of the volcano and that was spectacular too. All in all this was more than a 5-star experience. We had a terrific time. The only negative I can think of is that the nights are so short in Iceland (maybe 4 hours) that it's hard to get enough sleep. I'd recommend you bring an eye mask like the airlines give you on long flights so you can block out the light and sleep better. Maybe Arctic Adventures could start giving clients a welcome package including an eye mask. But with or without an eye mask, the experience was very worthwhile. Highly recommended.
3 wonderful days at Landmannalaugar
Globaltraveller105,Aug 26, 2024
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Absolute highlight of our holiday! 3 days in one of the most stunning places on earth. We were promptly picked up from Reykjavik and once at Landmannalaugar, our guide Throstur introduced himself and settled us into the hut (which is clean and cosy -definitely bring good ear plugs). Throstur was the best guide, helpful and friendly and engaging. He gave us plenty of information on what to expect for each hike, therefore making it easy for us to decide what to wear and bring. On the hikes we had plenty of rest stops and opportunities to take photos. We had a fantastic little group, everyone was friendly and mucked in with preparing food and cleaning up etc. We enjoyed the thermal pool after a long hike and even though there were plenty of people, it didn’t feel too crowded. We also enjoyed the Mountain Mall and got some beers to go with Throstur’s expertly bbq-ed lamb on evening 2. I can highly recommended Arctic Adventures and Throstur, we had the most amazing few days.
Landmannalaugar is a must-see for hikers of all ability levels
HelenL429,Jul 8, 2024
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00What a fantastic tour! The skilled bus driver made sure we arrived safely after traversing some '4WD' roads, including several water crossings. The hut we stayed in was well appointed, and our tour guide (Vjeran) was extremely professional. He was knowledgeable about the area (and Iceland in general), took into account the different ability levels of the group members, was fun to be with, had great and interesting stories and can cook a mean leg of lamb on the BBQ. The three hikes we did were absolutely amazing, with diverse scenery and fantastic view points. This trip definitely exceeded expectations.
Laugevegur hike
K7257VJianl,Aug 23, 2023
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Fanni was outstanding! Super guide - took care of our group, really informative - she’s awesome! Thanks Fanni!
Incredible Mountain Hiking
FBJosh,Aug 12, 2023
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00This was an incredible and rewarding experience. Our guide, Deyan was wonderful and thoughtful. He went above and beyond to make sure that everyone was comfortable with the terrain and prepared for the hike. His expertise really showed and set the bar extremely high for the rest of our trip. The landscape in Landmannalaugar is not to be missed and even better when viewed from a mountain peak. A truly worthwhile (at times challenging!) hike.
A challenging but fun hike!
viethoangp,Jul 24, 2023
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00The hike itself was phenomenal. It was tough at times, especially during the first day climbing the mountains or when crossing streams. However the views are unreal, pictures don’t do them justice. Our tour was well organised and our guide, Fanny was really helpful and friendly. She was very knowledgeable about the terrains and wildlife and she told very funny jokes. Overall, the hike was a really rewarding and enriching experience. I heartedly recommend the tour. However be warned that it is not going to be easy as at time the trek can be quite steep and long.
A great way to experience this dramatic scenery
Compass19836395774,Jul 7, 2023
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00A great way of experiencing this most dramatic scenery. We stayed in the hut for two nights and were treated to excellent food courtesy of our guide Didi. Plenty of time for daywalks and soaking in the pool. I'm glad I chose this option over the trek itself, which was a lot more expensive, or a day trip from Reykjavik which would have been a lot of travelling for not much time. Everything was very well organised.
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Operated by Arctic Adventures