Interactive hiking guide
Laugavegur & Fimmvörðuháls
Laugavegur trail is Iceland’s most popular multi-day hike, and we completed it in three days. For those seeking additional adventure, the hike can be extended by adding the Fimmvörðuháls trail. We tackled both trails in 4 days, but in reverse, starting in Skógar and finishing in Landmannalaugar.
Neither hike is technically difficult, though the Fimmvörðuháls trail does involve significant elevation gain. Laugavegur is generally considered a medium-easy hike, but the unpredictable Icelandic weather can make it more challenging. We faced strong winds, poor visibility, and cold temperatures, which added to the difficulty.
Along the way, you'll find mountain huts where you can spend the night, either booking a bed or camping in your own tent. Wild camping is completely prohibited. This hike is one of the best ways to explore Iceland’s natural beauty, passing through volcanic landscapes, glaciers, hot springs, and colorful rhyolite mountains.
A hike of ice and fire - through glaciers and volcanoes
- LocationIceland
- Moderate
- Distance83km
- Stages4 days
- Elevation Gain 3500m
- Elevation Loss 3000m
The Elevation Profile
Total Distance
-km
Elevation Gain
m
Elevation Loss
m
Max Elevation
m
Min Elevation
m
- Stage
- Point of interest
The route map
Silent hiking film
Frequently asked questions
How to get there
Reykjavik Excursions have bus connections to Landmannalaugar, Þórsmörk and Skógar, so it doesn't matter if you are doing the hike north to south or the other way, or if you want to include the Fimmvörðuháls trail. The only tricky thing is that the bus schedule is very limited, basically one bus per day per destination. Here you can see the full details and make the reservations. We took a bus from Reykjavik at 7am and arrived at Skógar at 10am. From Landmannalaugar we took the bus back at 16:00.
Water & food
There's no lack of water, you'll cross many rivers and you can refill at the mountain huts as well. Only on Fimmvörðuháls trail it's good to remember that the last place to refill is before crossing a bridge, after that there's no water source until you reach Þórsmörk. Fimmvörðuskáli nor Baldvinsskáli have running water sources.
We were shocked to realize that in general the mountain huts didn't offer food or drinks to people passing through. They don't even have inside areas for people to take shelter, all the huts are only for people who have made a reservation to spend the night there. So when you're passing through a hut and it's cold and raining you basically don't have any place to have shelter. Only in Alftavan Hut we saw that they had a little cafe where you can buy hot drinks and meals.
Accommodation
There are a total of 11 mountain huts along Laugavegur and Fimmvörðuháls. Camping is possible on all of them, however it's not recommended to camp at Fimmvörðuskáli, Baldvinsskáli or Hrafntinnusker due to the hostile environment. If you want to sleep in the huts you must make reservations and you can only hike from north to south. For camping you can not make reservations.
Wild camping
Wild camping is not allowed anywhere along Laugavegur or Fimmvörðuháls, you need to camp at the official campsites, but luckily there are plenty of them. So far the huts do not require reservations for camping, so it gives you the flexibility to stop and set up camp at any of them.
When to go
The best summer months in Iceland are July and August and in general the huts are open from late June to mid September. We hiked in late July and the weather varied a lot: one day you could hike in shorts and t-shirt, another day you'd wear four layers and feel cold. Especially our hands were freezing a few times even though we had hiking gloves.
We completed the hike in late July.
Money
The local currency is Icelandic króna (ISK) and it's good to carry a little bit of cash along the trail. In all the places card payments were possible, however, sometimes it wouldn't work due to bad reception. We only encountered this problem at Alftavan. Only the Skógar Campsite requires coins for the shower.