Laki Hiking & Travel Guide

Laki is a mountain in South, Iceland. This guide covers how to visit it, what to expect and how to build a day around it.

Laki at a Glance

• What it is: mountain (Hiking)
• Where it is: South, South, Iceland — coordinates 64.0703, 18.2366
• Why it is listed: a source-verified entry in the CollabsTravel master database, matched against official gazetteer and geographic records before publication
• Time needed: two to four hours
• Best season: late spring to early autumn

Quick Facts

Place type	Mountain
Primary category	Hiking
Also good for	Hiking, Scenic
Region / state	South
Country	Iceland
Coordinates	64.0703, -18.2366

Why Laki Is Worth Visiting

Laki earns its place in this guide for a simple reason: it is a verified hiking in South, Iceland,. With 8 other verified places within 150 km, it anchors a cluster instead of standing alone. Visitors book it for hiking, scenic as much as for hiking. And unlike listicle recommendations, everything on this page - coordinates, category, sources - was checked against official records before publication.

About Laki

In plain terms, Laki is a mountain in the South area of South, Iceland that travellers book around hiking trips. Beyond its main draw, the record tags it for hiking, scenic too, so it rewards more than one kind of visit. Everything stated on this page comes from that verified record; where background history is quoted, the source is named at the end of the section.

The Story of Laki: History & Background

Laki (Icelandic pronunciation: ) or Lakagígar (, Craters of Laki) is a volcanic fissure in the western part of Vatnajökull National Park, Iceland, not far from the volcanic fissure of Eldgjá and the small village of Kirkjubæjarklaustur. The fissure is properly referred to as Lakagígar, while Laki is a mountain that the fissure bisects. Lakagígar is part of a volcanic system centered on the volcano Grímsvötn, including the volcano Þórðarhyrna. It lies between the glaciers of Mýrdalsjökull and Vatnajökull, in an area of fissures that run in a southwest to northeast direction.

The system erupted violently over an eight-month period between June 1783 and February 1784 from the Laki fissure and the adjoining volcano Grímsvötn. It poured out an estimated 42 billion tonnes or 14 km3 (18×10^9 cu yd) of basalt lava, as well as clouds of poisonous hydrofluoric acid and sulfur dioxide compounds that contaminated the soil, leading to the death of over 50% of Iceland's livestock population and the destruction of the vast majority of all crops. This led to a famine, which then killed at least a fifth of the island's human population, although some have claimed a quarter.

The Laki eruption and its aftermath caused a drop in global temperatures, as 120 million tonnes of sulfur dioxide were spewed into the Northern Hemisphere. This caused crop failures in Europe and may have caused droughts in North Africa and India.

Lead passage from the Wikipedia article "Laki", reused under CC BY-SA 4.0 with a coordinate-verified name match; the source article carries the full referenced history.

The Beauty of Laki

What people mean when they call Laki beautiful is usually elevated, unblocked views - the kind of layered landscape that photographs badly from the road and perfectly from the first viewpoint. The light does most of the work: high-latitude light stretches long and low, making midsummer evenings and golden-hour mornings the standout hours. The seasons restyle everything around it - wildflower spring, deep-green summer, gold-and-rust autumn and, above the snowline, a winter version of the same scene. And the beauty compounds with context: with 8 other verified places nearby, the South area reads as one continuous landscape rather than a single viewpoint, which is worth more than any filter on the photos you take here.

Getting There

Laki sits at 64.0703, 18.2366 in South, Iceland. Most visitors reach it by car, regional rail or local transit; pin the coordinates above rather than only the name - Laki names repeat across regions, and rural entries often lack street addresses.

Best Time to Visit

Late spring to early autumn (May to September) brings the warmest and most reliable conditions across Iceland. Shoulder months just before and after that window trade a little weather for noticeably lower prices and thinner crowds.

Laki Season by Season

• Summer (Jun-Aug) - peak season: the warmest, longest days and everything open, which also makes it the priciest and busiest window
• Autumn (Sep-Nov) - shoulder season: crowds drain away, the light turns photographic, and lodging rates typically fall
• Winter (Dec-Feb) - off-season: cheapest beds and empty viewpoints, but check for closures, snow or rain before committing
• Spring (Mar-May) - rebuild season: wildflowers, newborn wildlife and reopened facilities - the best balance if the weather holds

Things to Do

Planning what to actually do at Laki comes down to the setting it sits in:

• Arrive with the exact coordinates (64.0703, -18.2366) pinned in your maps app — rural place names repeat across states
• Walk the shortest signed loop first, then decide how far to push on with the lightest pack
• Check sunrise/sunset times before setting out; carry water for double the distance you plan
• Photography stops at the first viewpoint are usually the best framed ones
• Chain the stop with what is nearby — see the list below before fixing your day route

None of this needs a rigid schedule - the honest pattern at Laki is one anchor at the trailhead or first viewpoint, one longer stop, and the rest of the time left for whatever looks better from the car window. That flexibility is what separates a good half-day from a rushed one.

A Perfect Day in Laki

Morning (start early). Have breakfast at Laki and roll out before mid-morning - the light is softer, parking is open, and Laki is at its quietest before the day-trippers arrive. Give the main stop its full due first rather than saving it for later.

Midday. From Laki, Blængur is only 4 km away - pair the two rather than driving home for lunch; a picnic beats a reservation near most of these spots.

Afternoon. Keep going to Grettir (14 km) if the group still has legs; it is the standard second half of this loop.

Golden hour. End at the main viewpoint, waterfront or main street as the light drops; this is the hour Laki is genuinely famous for locally, and it costs nothing.

Evening. Sleep at Laki unless the road out is long - leaving at dusk is the one mistake that can flatten an otherwise perfect day.

Know Before You Go to Laki

• Save the pin (64.0703, -18.2366) offline - reception in South is exactly as good as it needs to be and no better
• Check the official source listed at the bottom of this page for current hours, fees and closures before driving out
• Carry more water than the plan says; shade is usually optional on these routes
• Tell someone the turnaround time - help arrives slower than it looks from the trailhead

Nearby Places Worth Combining

Laki does not sit in isolation - these verified places are all within a short hop and combine into a full loop:

• Blængur — hiking, about 4 km (2 mi) away
• Grettir — hiking, about 14 km (9 mi) away
• Breiðbakur — hiking, about 14 km (9 mi) away
• Klakkafell — hiking, about 17 km (11 mi) away
• Kaldbakur — hiking, about 20 km (12 mi) away
• Hamrafell — hiking, about 21 km (13 mi) away
• Geirlandshraun — hiking, about 23 km (15 mi) away
• Miðfell — hiking, about 24 km (15 mi) away

Planning More of Your Trip

See everything in Iceland on the Iceland country hub, browse the full Hiking Iceland collection, or take in the whole South region.