Join us for a tour of the Reykjanes Peninsula, an area marked by powerful geological activity. You’ll see Iceland’s youngest lava fields and visit the town of Grindavík, where devastating earthquakes split roads, lava flows damaged houses, and residents were forced to evacuate.
During the tour, you’ll explore a geothermal area with numerous hot springs, admire the scenic lake Kleifarvatn, see Iceland’s oldest lighthouse, cross the bridge between continents, and ancient lava fields covered in soft, vibrant moss, all over.
Choose a Bus stop near to your accommodation (Google Map)
Kleifarvatn, the largest lake on the Reykjanes Peninsula, is truly a sight to behold. The scenic road skirting its shore is one of Iceland’s most underrated routes, hugging the lake’s edge with towering mountains rising on the other side. The drive is nearly as captivating as stopping to admire the lake from various viewpoints.
Fun Fact: In 2000, Kleifarvatn lost 20% of its water when a fissure opened after an earthquake, draining into the nearby North Atlantic through a subterranean channel. Fortunately, the lake has since nearly returned to its original levels.
In the fissure zone between two tectonic plates running across Iceland lies the expansive geothermal area of Krýsuvík. Within this area is Seltún, a geothermal field marked by volcanic fumaroles, mud pots, and hot springs. The geothermal activity here creates a striking landscape painted in bright yellows, reds, and greens—a result of sulfur interacting with various minerals in the soil.
Here you will see the most recent lava fields created by the volcano at Fagradalsfjall. This is the youngest land in Iceland and can sometimes be alive with molten rock and lava.
Not far from Grindavik, Gunnuhver is an area of mud pools and steam vents on the very tip of the Reykjanes peninsula. The gases spewing from the ground make the surrounding lava rock into bubbling clay and the water to acid. Gunnuhver is the largest mud pot in Iceland.
The area was named after a local ghost, Gunna, who was said to be causing trouble in the area until the local priest trapped her and she fell into the hot spring some 400 years ago. Scary!
On Reykjanes there are many lighthouses. Some even say that the lighthouses outnumber the villages. The most famous of them all, as well as being the oldest one in Iceland, is Reykjanes lighthouse, which stands 29 meters (95ft) tall 69 meters (226 ft) above sea level.
Bridge between Europe and North America on Reykjanes Peninsula. The lava-scarred Reykjanes peninsula lies on one of the world’s major plate boundaries, the Mid Atlantic Ridge. According to the continental drift theory the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates are continuously drifting apart with great forces under the gaping rifts. As the plates diverge, linear fractures, known as fissures form due to stresses created by the tension that builds up as the plates move away from each other. The Bridge between two continents at Sandvík is a small footbridge over a major fissure which provides clear evidence of the presence of a diverging plate margin. The bridge was built as a symbol for the connection between Europe and North America.
