Passing through earth, water, wind, and fire in 25 challenging kilometers.

If you’re reading this to figure out whether or not you should do the Fimmvörðuháls, you can stop reading here. Do it. The only downside of the hike is that it will seriously spoil the rest of Iceland for you. It’s hard to compete with the incredible beauty of this trail.

The hike begins at one of Iceland’s bigger waterfalls, Skógafoss in Skógar. Situated east Reykjavík along the southern coast, the drive takes about 2 hours. The night before the hike we stayed at the Vík HI Hostel in Vík (home to Dyrhólaey and Reynisfjara, aka Black Sand, Beach) so our drive was a little under one hour to Skógar. You can opt to begin at Thörsmork, but Skógar is considerably more accessible.

Parking & Transportation

If you rented a car like we did, you’ll have to do a little shuffling around in order to get to and from your car, as the hike is not a loop – you are hiking directly north to Thörsmork. Our solution was to park at Seljalandsfoss, about 25 minutes back west of Skógar toward Reykjavík. Arriving here, you will see there is a paid parking lot with a maximum stay of 24 hours. However, if you drive back about 100m, there is another lot with campers and cars – across from this brown house pictured above. Here you can park overnight at no charge.

From Seljalandsfoss, we took a Sterna Travel Hop On Hop Off bus to Skógar (cost about 10 USD). It was super easy and got us to Skógar at about 11:30am. The reason we did this as opposed to parking at Skógar to start is the buses from Thörsmork Bàsar do not go to Skógar. They only run to Seljalandsfoss. We booked our bus back from Thörsmork with Thule. It took 1 hour and cost about $35USD a person. I cannot stress this enough – DO NOT TRY TO DRIVE YOUR CAR TO THÖRSMORK. You NEED a hefty 4×4, and even most of those won’t get you through the terrain. Many cars get stuck trying to do this. Our bus was basically a mini monster truck, so trust me when I say the bus is worth the money.

Part 1 – “Waterfall Way”

The trail begins at the base of a steep staircase that winds vertically up the side of Skógafoss. The stairs set a precedent for the hike because there are A LOT. From there, you are off along a relatively mild trail that seems as though it passes through a thousand waterfalls…though I’ve read it’s more like 26. I’ll spare you the hundreds of photos I took during this part of the trek and highlight it with two.

One of the best parts and worst parts of this hike is that if you dare get close enough to the cascades, you are free to refill your water as you please. Why is that the worst? Because this is the only portion of the trek in which you will find running water! Once you cross the bridge up into the highlands, you have to ration what you have. Don’t worry, though, there is a very definitive point that you will realize you are about to exit the splash zone.

Once you make your way through all the falls, the terrain will begin to dramatically flatten out and you become closer to the river than before. This is where you should stop for water. If you have a bladder, fill it here. You have to scramble down about 6 or 7 feet to get to the water, but this is the place to do so. This little falls area was actually one of my favorites. We took a little rest here, drank the freezing cold glacier water, and listened to the sweet sounds of running water. On to part 2!

Part 1.5 – “No Man’s Land”

Okay, so “Part 2” doesn’t come right away, in my opinion. Contrary to how other blogs make this portion out, you are not immediately catapulted into a volcanic wasteland the moment you cross the bridge.

This is where things start to get weird. You will come to a fork in the road right over the bridge – both will get you to Thörsmork. We decided to stay on the true blue (I say blue because it is marked with blue trail markers) Fimmvörðuháls Trail.

As you can see by the above images, the terrain starts to really flatten out. However, you should anticipate walking along those pesky mid-sized stones for a while (they are my least favorite terrain to hike on!!). This isn’t a bad place to break out any ankle support or hiker poles you may need. I won’t lie, this portion of the hike is kind of boring, but try to keep up morale!

Part 2 – “The Ash Tray”

Suddenly as though out of no where, you’ll find yourself sandwiched between Eyafjalljökull Glacier and Mýrdalsjökull Glacier (both as difficult to pronounce as they look). Things become increasingly more volcanic and you’ll feel like you’ve just begun your journey onto another planet. I can’t even explain to you what this looks like, so I will let the photos do the talking. Also note, none of these are edited.

• 

• 

(!?) I was in utter awe this entire time. Emerging over every hill, agape, crying out, “Are you kidding me?” I actually could not believe my eyes. Though, in my opinion, the most incredible portion of the trek, this section was definitely the hardest.

Half-Way Accommodations

We decided early on that we weren’t going to attempt the trek in one day. Considering the buses back from Thörsmork only ran at 16:30 and 18:30, and our bus to Skógafoss got us to the starting point around noon, we didn’t think we’d have enough time to complete it (we were right). I also recommend staying overnight because it gives you a chance to take your time, photos, and breaks without worrying about the clock.

We booked our accommodations with Utivist at about $56USD per head. You can also book through FÍ, but that was all full when I called. Note: I booked our stay in April for a late August hike and I was placed on a waiting list. There just aren’t many beds. The hut is simple, but it is heated. You should bring your own sleeping bags, but I was happy that they provided us with small pillows. There is an outhouse and a gas stove as well as provided water for boiling.

It was nice to break up the hike and feel refreshed on day two for more ridiculously mind-blowing scenery. (In case you haven’t realized, this post is 50% a way to show off some of my photos). At one point (below) we got caught in a little sandstorm or two, so be wary – they tend to kick up! Doesn’t it look like I’m on another planet?

And then…

Wowee!! Can you believe those mountains? I think at this point, my eyes truly could not believe what they were seeing. Below is me marveling (WTF’ing) at this site.

Part 3: Valley of the Gods (Thörsmork)

Sadly, I didn’t get a lot of photos of Thörsmork. Or not nearly as many as I should have, anyway. There were a few reasons: this part of our trek got cold, my camera battery was just about dead, and we were honestly pooped! I don’t think I captured it’s true beauty, but you’ll love it when you see it. I think we were all expecting to suddenly emerge into this place of wonder, but the transition into Thörsmork is more subtle than that.

I will add that while beautiful, Thörsmork may be particularly challenging if you are afraid of heights. There are a lot of thin paths that traverse along steep drops. There is one portion that requires the help of a good old rusty chain to descend, and another portion referred to as “The Cat’s Spine” that has vertical drops on either side of a narrow, rocky path. As someone who gets a thrill out of extreme adventure, I loved it.

Girl power!! This hike made all three of us feel so badass! We went from waterfall utopia to basically the set of Mad Max: Fury Road to what felt like the meeting ground for an army of gnomes. A million percent worth it and so rewarding!

The Aftermath

(One of) my favorite parts of Iceland is the abundance of hot pots located around the country…and a dip in one felt necessary after the past two days. You can find a full map of Iceland’s hot pots here! You can only imagine how amazing the Gamla Laugin (Secret Lagoon) in Fluðir felt that evening! Unbeatable.