1. Myvatn Geothermal Area
2. Hverir
3. Viti crater
4. Leirhnjukur volcano (Krafla Volcanic fields)

This portion of our trip took us to the central and northern regions of Iceland. The 250 km (155 mi) loop is known as the Diamond Circle. The drive was relatively straightforward, and the highways were well maintained. But the weather here was must different than we experienced so far in the southern and western parts of the country.

From Hofsos we drove to a new tiny cabin located along the 85 road near Lake Myvatn. We stayed here for a couple of days while we explored the surrounding region. For the next few days, grey skies had set in with only occasional patches of blue.

1. Myvatn Geothermal Area

First off was a trip to the powerful geothermal area just north of the lake. It was such a unique sight, with a landscape that looked like a barren planet. The hot steam rising all over added to the effect.

2. Námaskarð

Not far from away was Námaskarð, where you could walk around and get close to the hot pools and steamy geothermal vents.

3. Viti Crater

Viti Crater was close to the next site, so we stopped off on the way. It’s a short walk from the parking lot to the crater view. Unfortunately, the fog made for a less than spectacular photo and the blue-green colour of the water was less pronounced.

4. Leirhnjukur

Just down the road from Viti crater was Leirhnjukur volcano (Krafla Volcanic fields). This ended up being one of our favourite spots in the area due to the unique features found here. The area is home to one of Iceland’s most explosive volcanoes. It has gone off 29 times since the country was first settled. Between 1975 and 1984 there were nine eruptions that affected services, industry and tourism in the area. These eruptions also dramatically changed the landscape and gave us some unique sights on this day.

From here the boardwalk split in two directions. The closer one continued wound around the corner of a nearby hill towards a blasted section. Because of the broken up lava and variety of formations, it made for uneven ground.

The other boardwalk trail quickly ended and we had to continue over the lava. Some parts were trickier and required some scrambling. There were cracks and splits everywhere–it was as if the earth had been smashed and broken up. There were few people on the boardwalks before, but not there was no one else around as we made our way through the lava field.

We finally approached the remains of one of the eruptions. The small crater was all by itself in the middle of the lava field. I took the opportunity to walk right inside to see where the lava once flowed out.

Before taking the northern drive through the Diamond Circle there were more sights to see around Lake Myvatn. There were also geothermal pools to enjoy as well. They will be covered in Part 2.

Random Notes:

-the weather got really cold and damp at this point, and it went down to 3 degrees during the daytime

-Iceland is a rare place that is (thankfully) mosquito free, but we also heard that biting midges could be experienced around Lake Myvatn in summer. Perhaps it was due to the low temperatures that we didn’t have any issue with them while we were there