- Iceland
- North Iceland
- Hverfjall's Black Crater
On the outskirts of Mývatn Lake there is an impressive crater 250 metres high and 5 km in circumference. His short name is Hverfjall. Under its appearance as a young volcano, its last and only eruption dates back to 2500 years ago, which is not much on a geological scale.
Why does he look young when you're going to ask me? Quite simply because, unlike many of its congeners, the vegetation is totally absent on its slopes and crater. When you arrive on the outskirts of Lake Mývatn, you will certainly have noticed that most volcanoes are covered with minimal foam, which is not the case here.
The access is via a path that starts from Route 848,3.4 km south of the junction with Route 1 at Reykjahlíð. The road is covered with gravel and can be driven by all types of vehicles.
It takes about fifteen minutes from the car park to reach the edge of the crater via a rather steep path in the dust and small basalt pebbles, but which climbs quietly without difficulty.
From there you can admire the panoramic view of the Mývatn lake and its surroundings. From my point of view, this is the main interest of this ascent, the volcano itself being rather "sad", even if the reliefs are interesting. So, prefer a sunny day to climb it. You can also walk around the crater on a 5 km trail that follows the contours of the crater.
Summary
On the outskirts of Mývatn Lake there is an impressive crater 250 metres high and 5 km in circumference. His short name is Hverfjall. Under its appearance as a young volcano, its last and only eruption dates back to 2500 years ago, which is not much on a geological scale.
Why does he look young when you're going to ask me? Quite simply because, unlike many of its congeners, the vegetation is totally absent on its slopes and crater. When you arrive on the outskirts of Lake Mývatn, you will certainly have noticed that most volcanoes are covered with minimal foam, which is not the case here.
The access is via a path that starts from Route 848,3.4 km south of the junction with Route 1 at Reykjahlíð. The road is covered with gravel and can be driven by all types of vehicles.
It takes about fifteen minutes from the car park to reach the edge of the crater via a rather steep path in the dust and small basalt pebbles, but which climbs quietly without difficulty.
From there you can admire the panoramic view of the Mývatn lake and its surroundings. From my point of view, this is the main interest of this ascent, the volcano itself being rather "sad", even if the reliefs are interesting. So, prefer a sunny day to climb it. You can also walk around the crater on a 5 km trail that follows the contours of the crater.
Easy access.
The crater is quite impressive because of its size.
Aerial photos are much more surprising. On the ground, the relief is much less marked.
We are Sandrine and Flo, French thirty-somethings. In 2019 we quit everything to live our dream, become nomads and travel around the world. We left with our baby, Lena, who was only 5 months old at the time. After a first trip around the Pacific Ocean by plane and a long 3 months stay in Hawaii, we left to discover Iceland for 3 months on board our 4WD pickup truck and truck camper. Then we continued our adventure in North America.
Today, if we can continue this adventure, it is above all thanks to our blog, Smartrippers! We created it one day in 2016, with the desire to share our good travel tips, without thinking that it would lead us there! We have developed it a lot over the years and have become experts on our 3 favorite destinations: Hawaii, Iceland and the American West. We now guide you to these destinations to help you plan the trip of your dreams!
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