Bike adventure to Laki

more info in my blog: https://yepyepyep.cat/en/bike-adventure-to-the-laki-volcano/

You can see a video of the adventure here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlSPlsjTZPQ

Day 1: from Fagrifoss to Lambavatn (33,5 km, +635m, -397m)

The first day we drove from Reykjavík tothe Geirlandsá River, where we park the van (4 hours)

The idea of ​​doing this bike route is to be able to cross a few rivers, which otherwise must be done with a 4×4 vehicle. We packed all our gear and crossed the river, some wearing socks and others flip-flops! As soon as we cross, we find the picturesque Fagrifoss, elegant and serene, welcoming us to the adventure.

Then we continue along a rocky dirt road. Our bikes have a 32 mm tire, which is not very suitable for this route, and means that we have to push the bike in some sections. If you have a mountain bike or a “fat tire bike”, it will be much easier! Rivers in Iceland should never be underestimated, but in the conditions that we did the route, we had no problems crossing any river, they were quite low.

We continue on an upward trend over uneven terrain until we reach a plateau, and there we begin to see the lava fields of the eruption in the distance.

Shortly after we arrive at a site with information panels on the eruption of Laki and toilets. It turns out that Mount Laki is not part of the 1783 eruption, but was created 20,000 years ago by an eruption under a glacier! That is why the rock is hyaloclastite, with a rather brownish color.

We take a tour inside an old crater and climb to the top of Laki (818 m), from where we see a row of volcanic cones that make up the fissure of the 1783 eruption. We are amazed by the landscape, it is wonderful! !

Then we continue by bike, while we watch the sunset, to Lake Lambavatn, where we decide to camp. At 9 pm, when we have already set up camp in the parking lot, near some picnic tables, a four by four from the National Park appears. We think we’ll get a huge fine for camping outside a licensed location!

Day 2: from Lambavatn to Blágil (19.8 km, +226m , -390m)

First we go to the Tjarnargigur area, where we hike from this crater to Eldborgarfarvegur. In this area there are toilets and information panels. Tjarnargigur is a fantastic lake located inside a crater, and we are once again amazed walking along the designated paths (the mosses are very fragile and cannot be stepped on).

We can observe two types of moss, a whitish one, which occupies higher positions on the rocks (the Woolly Fringe Moss, Racomitrium lanuginosum ), and a more greenish one, which occupies the cavities and low places (the Dense Fringe Moss, Racomitrium ericoides ) . . There are also lichens, such as Stereocaulon vesuvianum.

Afterwards, we cycled another 6 or 7 kilometers until we reached the Úlfarsdalur hike. We leave the bikes propped up on wooden posts (no chains are needed in Iceland, nobody touches anything) and we do an amazing circular walk: we see clouds of dust rising from pseudocraters in the distance, an incredible waterfall, green and brown landscapes, wonderful! It is a path that has recently been marked with yellow poles, and it is worth it! After we camp in Blágil

Day 3: from Blágil to Fagrifoss (19,8 km, +226m, -337m)

This last day is a bit of a formality to undo the outward journey by closing the circular route! We circulate at a good pace and happy with the adventure, visiting this area by bike has been a good idea.