Víti Crater at Krafla

What makes it special

Víti is a maar, a crater blasted open in 1724 by the first explosion of the Mývatn Fires; its name means hell in Icelandic.

What you come to see is the colour, which shifts with the light because bacteria and volcanic minerals tint the water: pale azure in still weather, royal blue in the wind. The slopes around it are brown sulphur ground, so the blue stands out from every point on the rim.

A faint smell of sulphur hangs over the crater, and steam hisses from vents on the slopes around it.

Leirhnjúkur, on the road up, has black lava and craters from the Krafla Fires, which ended in 1984. Coloured rhyolite rocks and small volcanic ponds lie between the flows, and mud pots steam beside the marked paths.

Visiting

Short walks make up the whole visit. The first starts at the Víti car park, and the viewpoint over the lake is a few minutes along the path.

The trail round the rim takes about 30 minutes. Set off to the right, the easier side; the left-hand side has the best views of the lake but stays slippery even in dry weather. Swimming in the lake is not allowed.

Then drive back down to the Leirhnjúkur car park, which you passed on the way up. Its main loop, about 4 km and one to one and a half hours, crosses the black lava on marked paths.

Tips

Near the vents the ground can be unstable and hot enough to melt soft soles, so keep to the marked path, in walking shoes with grip rather than smooth soles.

Bring a waterproof, windproof layer and something warm even in summer. On the steep hill up, if a truck is coming down, wait by the power station until it has passed.