Laugavegur: The Best Hike in the World

If you are only going to do one backpacking trip in Iceland - make it the Laugavegur.
The Laugavegur trail stretches from Landmannalaugar - a geothermal area known for it's colorful mountains in the north, to Thorsmork in the south.
Over the 32 mile trail, you have the option to stay in tents or in huts - but if you are going to stay in huts, be sure to book early!
Find out more about hiking in Iceland:
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[@kevtb874]

Just did this 2 weeks ago. Week one we walked Laugavegur and Fimmvorduhals. 6 days in total. Week 2 we rented a cheap van and explored the south coast as far as Jökulsárlón. The second week was amazing. Any other time it would be absolutely remarkable which it was. And yet it still paled in comparison to the experience and some of the views on our hike and the fact we were surrounded by that landscape day and night. The view on day 2 over Alftavatn from Jokultungur in particular stands out in my mind. You can see as far as the mountains on day 5 (30km away). This alley of black ash filled with bright green peaks and a large blue lake in the middle just opens up when you crest a small hill. The only thing I've ever seen that I can compare it to is the Grand Canyon. The scale was just immense. So immense none of my photos captured it. It looks fine sure, but to see it with you own eyes on a clear sky day with the sun shining. I'll never forget it. That was just one standout moment. There were dozens more. Anyone fit and able and curious needs to experience it for themselves.

[@kiantalloen1132]

Hey @Kevtb874, i am considering doing the Laugavegur and Fimmvorduhals, 6 days in total. Would you recommend me to do the extra 2 days? Is it hard or rather an easy hike? Thank you!

[@kevtb874]

@@kiantalloen1132 do it. Plan in the time. Some younger fitter people combine days but that feels rushed to me. Soak it up. But DO NOT attempt the mountain on a poor day. We decided to give it a go on a grey, lightly rainy day from Thorsmörk. It became a galeforce blizzard higher up which meant spotting the trail markers became impossible. The smart thing to do would have been to turn around. Our other mistake was going when Fimmvörðuháls Hut at the top was closed (Baldvinsskáli was open but that extra kilometer or 2 felt out of reach in those conditions). We ended up in the emergency storage room of the first hut with another struggling hiker. Not ideal but sooo much better than being stuck in the elements. The whole thing was one of our worst planned hikes ever. Don't underestimate that mountain. Take note of the weather. Talk to a ranger the day before. So sadly day 5 is forever tainted for me and the views where obscured half the day with my partner and I cold and wet and struggling. The final day to Skógafoss is beautiful. 16 waterfalls along the river and the final huge plunging waterfall is a wonderful end point. Do it but be sensible. And bring good sporty flip flops and hiking poles for the river crossings in general. We met so people who were unprepared and crossed barefoot (tricky as hell) or in their trainers/hiking boots (uncomfortable for the rest of the day).

[@Daghostaiwriter]

I did this in 2015 for a school trip. The memories came flooding back. Great video.

[@rtleary2]

just added to my list of trips to go on! looks amazing!

[@KeithDuhaime]

Great video! Brought back fond memories of when my wife and I did this trek in August of 2019.

[@Acoss527]

Great video!!! Reassuring and great for someone embarking on this adventure soon. Thank you!!!

[@expeditionscretons]

It was nice to relive this trek from your perspective. Loved the narration :)

[@DavidIrthum]

How wonderful, thanks for this. I look forward to seeing 👀 other videos 😊.

[@jeffreyalanday7432]

Full of good energy, this video.

[@Alex10Adventures]

Really great insights into this world-class trek, and some incredible landscape shots as well!

[@Zoomdak]

I found you from you comments on Kraig Adams's live stream today and want to follow other creators making hiking videos like me. Great filmography and narration. Thanks for enduring the difficulty to share the beauty with us. Amazing diversity of landscapes! Keep up the great work, count me as a new subscriber.

[@zeeskyte]

Thanks so much for this detailed report.

[@ElsbethWeeks]

Thanks for the comment :)

[@WanderingSoleTV]

Fantastic footage, what a dramatic area!!

[@ElsbethWeeks]

Thanks for the comment! Iceland is really a special place :)

[@briceweeks3774]

Great video. Keep them coming!

[@ElsbethWeeks]

Thanks! Will do! :)

[@DeltadronesBr]

Awesome!

[@ElsbethWeeks]

Thanks :)

[@antnguyen]

Always stoked to find another filmmaker/vlogger backpacking channel. Nice work, appreciate the thoughtful shots and hard work it takes to prep, film, and edit these types of videos. Hope to see your channel grow!

[@ElsbethWeeks]

oh thank you! This really does mean a lot to me :) When I started I was inspired by Kraig Adams - "How hard can it be?". Well, turns out it's very hard! lol Anyway, thanks for watching!

[@welshlad6427]

Have been all over Iceland but never visited the Highlands. Definitely on my bucket list. Great vlog 🇮🇸❤️

[@ElsbethWeeks]

Thanks so much for such a nice comment! Amazing country, and the highlands are something else!

[@JB_FLYA69669]

Great video you have inspired me to go here

[@doodsanddudes]

Great hike. I’m a fellow creator we just got back from doing the ring roads. So beautiful. You guys saw some amazing views wow. All that was closed but we will go back in summer.

[@stephanieweeks762]

Awesome video - this is starting to look like it could be the makings of a movie - filming was excellent!

[@ElsbethWeeks]

Thank you! Still working on making a coherent story! But getting there :)

[@katherineweeks227]

Wow great hut to hut! Can't believe you left us behind

[@ElsbethWeeks]

Always playing the victim ;)

[@Dennisli478]

I wish I could walk again!

[@ElsbethWeeks]

One day!

[@brendaelizabethriosvargas7864]

Wonderful, Thanks for sharing. Greetings from Mexico 👍🏼🙏🏼❤️

[@ElsbethWeeks]

Thanks for the comment! Hope to get to visit your beautiful country soon :)

[@johnrodgers2018]

thanks, its on my list now, maybe two years time

[@ra6356]

Great edit!

[@ElsbethWeeks]

Thanks so much!

[@thegallivanthropologists]

So excited to spend a couple weeks in Iceland in April 2024. Looks like an amazing experience. Thank you for sharing this great video. I hope 2023 is the best yet for you and yours. Cheers from Turtle and Bear. We are a father and son team of Park Rangers and anthropologists who travel the World to share its amazing places and people. See you out there?

[@cyruscrossan]

So jealous, but also stoked that you guys got to go there. It's been on my bucket list for a while. Awesome video, did you get a drone?

[@ElsbethWeeks]

Oh thanks! Iceland blew all of my expectations away! I've had a drone for a while, but a lot of places I go have drone restrictions so I don't use it as much as I want to.

[@waterfallmadman]

Very beautiful trek in Iceland! I think this hike should have more waterfalls though. Ha ha.

[@ElsbethWeeks]

Ha! I agree! It definitely could have used more - if we managed to do the second part (fimmvorduhals) then we would have gotten some waterfalls!

[@eliteartistservices8712]

Amazing video, I'm looking into doing this in August, would love to wild camp it

[@ElsbethWeeks]

You are going to have a great time! Be careful with wild camping, the regulations change throughout the trail and I don't know the specifics. This letter published by Andrew Skurka has more information :) andrewskurka.com/adventures/iceland-traverse/laugavegur-camping-regulations/

[@eliteartistservices8712]

@@ElsbethWeeks Amazing, thank you for the info

[@papaspage2001]

Thumbs up 👍

[@ElsbethWeeks]

Thanks :)

[@mr.bnatural3700]

The beauty of a harsh environment. I love geology.

[@ElsbethWeeks]

Tell me about it! It's so interesting what stories the earth could tell if it could talk!

[@romanomm77]

Wonderful video! I would like to make two questions? On Landmannalaugar campsite, where you started the trail or at the end trail in Thormorsk, are there spot electricity to recharge batteries? Camera and drone. Is the whole trail well signposted? Can i go alone?

[@ElsbethWeeks]

You can definitely go alone, it is very easy to follow the trail and it is quite a popular route (unless you go when it is still winter, then probably not). If you are staying in the huts you will be able to charge your batteries, but if you are camping probably better to bring a backup battery

[@romanomm77]

@@ElsbethWeeks Thank you so much for replaying!!

[@Henning_Rech]

This was first half of July? - I hiked Fimmvörduhals/Laugavegur/Hellimansleid nobo in late July 2021, less snow then.

[@jawa134]

Great video - thanks for sharing. Did you have much trouble with bugs/insects?

[@ElsbethWeeks]

Hey! There were bugs but not the biting kind. Still annoying, but not like mosquitos

[@nataliapavelko8648]

👍👍👍

[@ElsbethWeeks]

:)

[@iloveeurope3341]

May I ask if you can drive to the cabin area in second day? Thank you

[@pjacobs13]

Great video, thanks for sharing. I see that you did the hikes on days 3 and 4 in one day. We are thinking of doing the same. May I ask how many hours it took to complete?

[@ElsbethWeeks]

Hey Peter, Yeah we did combine days 3+4. It was a long day, I think we left around 8 AM and got to Thorsmork around 5 PM. We did stop a lot for taking photos/videos and we spent about an hour at lunch. I think there were 2 big river crossings. Have a great time! It is truly such a beautiful hike! I hope to go back and do it again all the way to Skogafoss!

[@pjacobs13]

@@ElsbethWeeks thanks for your response. Sounds like it is a very long walk, but not particularly difficult. Looking forward to it, but a bit concerned about that last hike. Since we cannot get into the Emstrur hut (it's full), we must either do days 3 and 4 on the same day or camp that night. We are opting for the former.

[@laurarobson5206]

May I ask how you booked the bus from hella and the huts?

[@hoser7706]

It looks beautiful or varied but seems so “commercial”or over-used. Was it really that remote? Looks Golden Circle-ish.

[@FewAndSecret11]

what were the nightly temperatures like?

[@robb7733]

Can someone recommend a travel service ? I’m planning on hiking this in 2025. Thanks

[@themadhatter444]

Gorgeous. How did this compare to Hornstrandir?

[@ElsbethWeeks]

Hornstrandir is a top 5 (honestly probably Top 2) hike of all time for me. I dream of going back to spend like 7+ days. Laugavegur is absolutely also worth doing and the scenery is so different that it's hard to compare, but it's lower on my list to return to - however, there are other highland trips I've got on my radar :)

[@soletrail]

Hi Elsbeth, Great video. Well edited and great music choice. Such a calming feel to the hike. I am planning on doing this trip during the summer. Really looking forward to it. You gotta sub from me.

[@ElsbethWeeks]

Thanks for such a nice comment :)

[@daisygolden3311]

what month did you visit Iceland? all the snow?

[@ElsbethWeeks]

This was the first week of July - shoulder season means something different in Iceland lol

[@daisygolden3311]

@@ElsbethWeeks WOW. THANK YOU. snow in july.

[@kenedward4585]

Nice video... but looking for something a bit more challenging, and longer. Any Iceland ideas?

[@corydavis4121]

There is a traverse across the island from the southern most tip to the northern most tip and it includes the Laugavegur. Took me about a month.

[@trailblazer_nomad]

When did you do this trail? In what month?

[@ElsbethWeeks]

We were in Iceland 4th of July Week (so it was either very end of June or early July - can't exactly remember now but probably July)

[@wandaesch7314]

What time of the year did you do this

[@ElsbethWeeks]

This was the first week of July. The conditions were a bit on the cold/snowy side compared to average, but this is about what to expect that time of year :)

[@AlanDavis-ez5jr]

Just seeing a conga line of hikers heading off on this walk is enough for me to cross it off the list.

[@viltur83]

Hella has a LL. And not L , How you pronounce it is Hela is the goddess of the underworld The LL sound similar to the l in clock Love your video

[@verlorenerjunge5921]

For long distance hikers this is a joke.They will hike this easily in 2 days