Askja – a Volcano With a Swimming Pool

Askja is a volcanic caldera located in northern Iceland. It is famous for its bathing in a warm but not hot lake directly in the volcano’s crater.

Bathing in the volcanic lake in Askja

There are two very famous lakes in Askja. The larger one, Öskjuvatn, reaches a depth of 220 meters and is the second deepest lake in Iceland. The surface of the lake lies about 50 m below the main caldera and covers an area of about 12 km². Interestingly, it remains frozen for most of the year.

In contrast, the smaller lake – Viti – looks like… a natural Blue Lagoon. Definitely smaller than Öskjuvatn, it is so small that on less detailed maps it is not marked at all…. Six meters deep, it is filled with murky green-turquoise water with a temperature of about 22 ^oC. This is where you can bathe in the lake located in the volcano’s caldera. And that – technically – is an active volcano, to which, by the way, the lake water owes its temperature.

The fairytale atmosphere of Viti is spoiled somewhat by the nostril-irritating smell of sulfur, the very steep descent to the lake and the fact that its name means… hell.

Of course (?) in the caldera of the volcano there are no showers, changing rooms or other facilities for bathers. It is strictly a natural experience.

Askja volcanic system

Askja volcano is located in northern Iceland, about 65 km south of Lake Myvatn, in the Dyngjufjöll mountains. In ancient times, the volcano was named Dyngjufjoll, which now denotes the entire surrounding mountain range. Like all mountains in Iceland, it is of volcanic origin.

The Askja volcanic system extends over an area of about 50 km ² The summit of the caldera reaches 1516 meters above sea level, and the bottom of the main crater is about 1100 meters above sea level. Together with lakes Öskjuvatn, Viti and surrounding craters and lava fields, it forms the Askja volcanic system.

Askja volcano is rated as moderately active, although there may have been as many as 200 eruptions here over the past 7,000 years, at least 40 surrounding calderas are estimated to be younger than 1,100 years, and the last (minor) eruption took place in 1961 (it was then that the Holuhraun lava field was formed). Naturally – as in almost all of Iceland – small seismic tremors are recorded here almost constantly.

Formation of today’s volcano

The main caldera of Askja, now filled with the waters of Lake Öskjuvatn, was formed within 40-50 years after the 1875 eruption. In addition to creating the current landscape, the effect of this eruption was also a massive poisoning of the land and groundwater, the death of many animals and… a wave of mass emigration of Icelanders to the United States. Interestingly, the ash from this eruption reached as far as Scandinavia and northern Germany and Poland. Neighboring smaller calderas are estimated to have formed about 11,000 years ago.

Askja Ash Range
source: https://icelandicvolcanoes.is/?volcano=ASK

Askja surroundings

Askja is clearly a mountain massif dominating the area, but beyond the caldera itself, there are several other significant and interesting sites in the immediate vicinity.

Download a larger map in full resolution (2.7 MB): Askja tourist map

Dreki

About 6.5 kilometers east of the caldera, where the F910 and F894 roads intersect, is the Dreki shelter and campground. The hostel is small (up to 60 people) and offers only the most basic facilities. There is no grass at the campsite – it’s just a relatively level and cleared patch of lava cover. Dreki is run by the Akureyri Tourism Association (FFA: Ferðafélag Akureyrar). Reservations can be made by email or phone: ffa@ffa.is, +354 462 2720.

There is an accessible parking lot next to the shelter.

Vatnajokull park rangers and mountain rescuers are also on duty here.

Drekagil Canyon

A small but charming canyon. It begins just outside the Dreki hut and leads up the Askja Crater. The trail through the canyon and up to the Viti crater is a much more interesting way to the Askja summit than the car road, through the Vikraborgir lava field.

Walking along the trail (about 8 km), one should be careful and well prepared. The stream in the canyon often floods and destroys the trail path, and the stream itself has to be crossed several times, which is not always possible to do with a dry foot.

Vikraborgir lava field

Vikraborgir is a small but very fresh lava field on top of Askja. It’s here that you’ll find the upper parking lot at the end of the F894 road, from which you already walk (about 30 minutes) to the crater itself and the two lakes on top of it.

Dyngjuvatn Lake

Dyngjuvatn is a small and shallow lake located about 5 kilometers south of Dreka, at the beginning of the difficult and challenging western part of the F910 road. During the spring thaw, the lake can reach a length of up to 6 km. During the dry summer season it is much smaller.

Holuhraun lava field

Holuhraun is a fairly large lava field and the newest in Iceland. As recently as 2017, its rocks were still warm. I described it more extensively in a separate article about the volcano that created it: Bardarbunga – active volcano under the Vatnajokull ice cap Holuhraun lies about 25 km south of Dreka.

Dyngjufjalladalur Valley

A small (about 15 km) valley west of Askja Crater. It is home to the tiny shelter (16 people) Dyngjufell hut run by the FFA. A trail leads to the hut from Dreka and north to Botni (another FFA society hut).

Herdubreid Mountain

Herdubreid is a volcanic mountain about 20 km northeast of Askja. It can be seen well from the F88 road. It is a beautiful example of a mountain formed by a sub-ice volcano, or so-called table mountain (for more on this, see the article How Iceland’s volcanoes work). It is 1,682 meters high and is often called the Queen of Iceland’s mountains. In 2003, Herdubreid was voted Iceland’s National Mountain.

How to get to Askja

Regardless of the route you choose, you will need a 4-wheel drive car to reach Askja on your own. Askja can be reached from three directions: north, east and southwest.

Roads to Askja

There are daily bus trips to Askja from the Myvatn area (Reykjahlid, but also other places) and from Akureyri (in 4×4 and high-suspension coaches). If you do not have a 4×4 car, it is worth taking advantage of such an offer, although it is not cheap – prices start at about 20,000 ISK per person (about 650 PLN).

There is also a five-day hiking trail designated by the FFA that passes through the Askja caldera: The Askja Trail The trail leads between the following mountain refuges/huts: Thorsteinsskali (Þorsteinsskáli) – Braedrafell (Bræðrafell) – Dreki – Dyngjufell – Botni – Svartárkot. Unfortunately, you have to arrange access and return from the trail on your own. The first hut lies on the F88 road, the last one on the F26.

You will need good mountain boots when visiting Askja. Snow can fall here even in the middle of summer.

Photos from Askja

Swimming in Askja

Viti lake (Askja)

Vikraborgir car park in August

Dreki camp

Drekagil

Herdubreid

Holuhraun