Storagja (Stóragjá) is a little-known fissure in the middle of the village of Reykjahlíð, on Lake Mývatn in northern Iceland. Inside is a cave filled with naturally heated geothermal water – and a bathing spot that we would rather talk you out of.
Why bathing in Stóragjá is not a good idea
You can take a free hot bath at Stóragjá, but this is not a recommended attraction. First of all, it lacks a place where you can change comfortably, and secondly, there have been times when the pool held large amounts of dangerous algae and – due to the lack of water filtration and a shower before entering – E. coli bacteria. The water in the spring is about 25-30 °C (77-86°F), so it is lukewarm rather than hot anyway.
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How to get to Stóragjá
To reach this spring, you need to go to the intersection of roads 1 and 848, leave your car in the parking lot and follow a clearly marked path. The path leads through a narrow gorge (it’s basically a rock cleft), and at the end you have to lower yourself into the cave by rock steps and with the help of a rope. The entrance to the cave itself is quite tight.
The other, far more famous fissure with hot water, Grjótagjá, lies about 2 km (1.2 miles) to the southeast, and bathing is not welcome there either. Further along the same walk stand the crater of Hverfjall and the lava formations of Dimmuborgir – all of them part of what makes Lake Myvatn worth a couple of days.