Thrihnjukagigar Volcano – A Colorful Dormant Wonderland

Basic Information

Thrihnjukagigar is the only volcano in the country that lets tourists go inside through the craters into the magma chamber.
Thrihnjukagigar sits right on top of the two tectonic plates that Iceland stands upon.
Book a tour Inside the volcano to see it in real life!

With beautiful natural destinations scattered here, there and almost everywhere, Iceland officially has more than enough tourist destinations to make your tour worth every second that you spend in the country. Although, countless destinations and choosing a few of them to see during your trip can be a hard decision to make if you are not aware of all the top ones that deserve to be on that to-do list for Iceland. Located right beside Reykjavik is the Thrihnjukagigar volcano which is popular for its huge volcanic chamber and is one of the top hidden wonders of Iceland. Known by a few and experienced by even fewer, this volcano is so beautiful that you wouldn’t almost believe it to be capable of being such a powerfully destructive force.

The Volcano with Three Craters

Thrihnjukagigar is the only volcano in the country that actually lets tourists go inside through the craters into the magma chamber. Thrihnjukagigar has three different craters one of which has been laden with equipment to transport people in. The name Thrihnjukagigar even means three peaks crater which is what the volcano actually is. It has been about 4000 years since Thrihnjukagigar last erupted which makes it a completely safe place for exploration and sightseeing. The crater is about 700 ft, deep while the ground areas measure 160×220 ft. Fun fact, Thrihnjukagigar sits right on top of the two tectonic plates that Iceland stands upon. Moving and shifting of these plates makes the earth’s crust split which initiates the volcanic activity. The crater that receives tourists is a funnel-shaped crater that opens up wide at the bottom. It takes about 6 minutes to reach the bottom of the crater after strapping on the harness.

Colors that You Didn’t Even Know Existed

It is no secret that volcanoes are very beautiful once they have calmed down and are not spitting ashes and lava everywhere. The colors that the trail of lava leaves behind are simply exquisite and can be seen in many lava caves as well as the land that surrounds them. However, Thrihnjukagigar volcano is on a whole new level when it comes to beautiful colored walls and lava chambers. Once you are elevated down in the lava chamber by harnesses, you will enter a world full of colors that you probably have never seen in your life. There are shades of brown, golden yellow, red, blue, black, green, rusty red-brown, and many more shades are made by a combination of these colors. Long thing short, there is a whole new world inside the magma chamber of this volcano and you will be nothing but speechless once you lay your eyes upon it.

A Musician’s Heaven

The stunning visuals of the volcano are not only a huge tourist attraction but also serve as a great place for song shoots and recordings. Kaleo, an Icelandic rock band, recorded their song live in the magma chambers of Thrihnjukagigar volcano in 2015. The next year attracted another musician, Chino Moreno, who had his concert in the volcano during the Summer Solstice Music Festival.

Getting to the Bottom

It is necessary to book a guided tour to go inside the volcano of Þríhnúkagígur. Once you reach the mouth of the crater, you will receive a helmet and harness before elevating down to the magma chamber in an open-air elevator. The crater is about 120 meters deep and it takes about 6 minutes to reach the bottom. The tour of the magma chamber will take about 30-45 minutes.

How to Reach Thrihnjukagigar

It takes about 35 minutes to reach the volcano when driving from Reykjavik. If you are driving yourself, leave Reykjavik and get to Route 1. Continue on Route 1 until you reach the right turn that leads to road 417. Thrihnjukagigar is about 4 kilometers from this point. Once you reach the gravel track, find a parking space, and continue the rest of the journey on foot. If you have booked a tour, your meeting place should be right around here. The guide will lead the way from there onwards. The volcano is only a few minutes away from there.