Getting Hot in Iceland

Iceland has the highest-flowing hot spring in all of Europe, but as any tourist quickly learns, the country also has a huge number of hot springs overall. In fact, from the Blue Lagoon to public hot pools, its capital city Reykjavik is littered with spots to heat you up in the frosty weather. On my visit there, however, a local named Martin offered to take four of us (two guys, two girls) on a trek into the mountains for a hot spring experience in the wild.

The adventure started in the early evening when our guide showed up at the Reykjavik hostel. There was a London-based DJ in our group celebrating his birthday, and this was going to be his birthday party. We loaded into the car, drove about an hour outside the city and then proceeded to hike about 90 minutes up into the hills. Make no mistake about it, most of us were nervous that Martin had gotten lost several times, and when our torches ran out of fuel earlier than expected, even the atheists among us started to pray. Fortunately he did know where he was going, and the place he took us to was incredible.

Since the hot spring was in nature, there was no real way to control the temperature, and most of these waters are bubbling hot. In fact, we passed several springs along the way that looked like volcanoes ready to explode. However, this particular spring poured out in a stream that met up with a cold water stream, and the two combined in a small pool that was the perfect temperature. It certainly exceeded the legal limits put on public hot pools, but it wasn't so warm that people couldn't take the heat. And even for those who were too hot, they could always move closer to the cold water stream. In most spots, the water was only a few feet deep, so it allowed us to lie down and relax in the smoothing, mineral-rich waters. And naturally that's when we broke out the six-packs!

Though we were out in the middle of nowhere, we unfortunately did not see the northern lights, which are more common in the colder months of January and February. Still, being so far away from the city, we could look up at an absolutely beautiful star-filled sky. It was literally like gazing at a painting on a giant canvas. With the torches having gone out just before we got to the spring, it was a lot more adventuresome heading down the hill with five people sharing just two flashlights and walking across very muddy terrain. In the end, my shoes and socks both got relegated to the trash bin, but it was a small price to pay to experience one of Iceland's most popular natural attractions in a truly natural setting.

Photos by Martin Leifsson