THE VOLCANO
"Thrihnukagigur volcano is dormant – it last erupted over 4,000 years ago. There are no indications of it erupting again in the near future. The volcano’s name, mostly unpronounceable for anyone other than locals, would be directly translated as ‘Three Peaks Crater’. The name comes from Árni B. Stefánsson, who was the first to explore the vault and who has pleaded the case for making it accessible for years."
INFO FROM THE SITE
TOUR FACTS
Operation dates: From 15 May – 15 October
Tour departures: Several departures every day. The first tour at 8:00 and the last tour in the afternoon.
Duration: 5–6 hours (about 35-40 minutes inside the volcano).
Fitness level needed: Moderate (the difficulty is 2 out of a possible 5). No knowledge of hiking or climbing is required. It’s not an uphill walk, but the surface is partly uneven. This is NOT a tour for those in no or limited physical shape.
Distance walked: Approximately 3 km (2 miles) each way. The walk usually takes around 45–50 minutes (depending on the condition of people in the group). A guide will be with you at all times during the walk.
Minimum age limit: 12 years (we can and have made exceptions on the age. Contact us if you want to convince us that your kid is up for adventure).
Price: ISK 42.000, approx $400 US.
We booked our tour through I Heart Reykjavik, who was indispensable in helping coordinate all our Iceland tours.
The Inside the Volcano Mercedes picked us up and drove us outside the city to the Inside the Volcano Welcome Center Base Camp.
Image: Van
From there, were hiked, 45 minutes through a lava field, to the Base Camp at the foot of the volcano.
Image: Hiking
Image: Hiking
The scenery on our moderate hike was amazing. You had to keep telling yourself to stop for a moment and look around.
We had two guides, one was at he front, and the other brought up the rear.
Here you can see the volcano and it's sister mountains ahead. This gives you an indication of the walk.
Here we arrive at the second base camp at the foot of the mountain.
There are three WC (bathrooms) here.
We all got a safety tour explaining what was to come.
Here's the gear everyone gets before descending into the volcano.
Here we are hiking up the mountain to get to the opening of the volcano.
We look like professional hikers in a mountaineering magazine!
View from the top!
Next up, our German-engineered elevator is ready for our decent.
Here we are heading down 700 feet.
There is lighting inside the volcano that allows for taking some amazing photos of the rock formations.
The tours are kept small so it doesn't get crowded. Once at the bottom, you are free to wanter around. There are ropes to hold on to as you make your way along the rocky bottom of the volcano.