You know those beautiful photos you see in travel brochures that you spend your working hours daydreaming about? Those pictures that show beaches with stunning blue water and mountains with colors dancing all over them. You can hardly wait to see these places for yourself, but when you finally arrive your left disappointed when the view is not as stunning as the pictures promised.
Well Landmannalaugar is not one of those places! Pictures can not do this place justice, it is beyond beautiful!
As you drive the bumpy gravel road an hour back in between the beautiful mountains you see a range of rich vibrant colors that looked as if they had been painted. When you arrive in the valley you are greeted with dozens of tents set up, people relaxing in the hot spring after a long day of hiking, and an atmosphere that makes you feel like you have just wandered into a small happy community complete with a small shop inside an old school bus.
There are several different hiking trails that you can choose from in the area. We arrived late in the day after our change in plans so we opted to do a quick walk up what is called the Blue Peak.
Do you see the turquoise and blue colors in the mountain? The further up you climb the wider the range of colors you see, from browns to pink, green to black, the colors are stunning. I seriously could not get over the different colors in Landmannalaugar!
Stunning right? Sadly we never made it to the top of this path as the weather began to have other things in mind (like a rain/wind storm), but just in our short climb, we were able to see some amazing views. If you only have a short time to spend in the area I recommend choosing this path as it gives you a great view of the whole area.
An added bonus to the beautiful landscape is the adorable furry friends you will find wandering around.
The Icelandic horses are always my favorite, they are so cute and friendly. If you are a horse lover you can even rent horses at Landmannalaugar and go riding on certain trails around the area. H had to drag me away from these guys, I just wanted to take them home with me they were so adorable.
Next time I go to Landmannalaugar I will be sure to bring my tent so I can camp out and spend my days hiking, and the evenings soaking in the hot spring under the midnight sun. If you are a hiking enthusiast visit a visit to the Icelandic highlands will be a dream for you.
Be sure to add the Landmannalaugar to your hiking list and get to Iceland!
