Landmannalaugar sits in Iceland’s uninhabited interior, accessible only by highland road and river ford, and the journey is part of the point. When the rhyolite mountains appear — streaked in pink, ochre, green, and purple, looking like a geological watercolour — the landscape becomes something you have never seen before and will not see anywhere else. The colours are caused by different minerals in the volcanic rock, and in certain light they seem to shift.
The natural hot spring at the base camp, where warm water meets a cold stream in a lava field, is one of Iceland’s great simple pleasures. The Laugavegur hiking trail begins here — a four-day trek to Thorsmork through landscapes that change from coloured mountains to black obsidian deserts to green valleys in a sequence that feels curated by a geologist with an artist’s eye. Even a day hike up Brennisteinsalda, the most colourful mountain, is unforgettable.
When to go: Late June through September only — the highland roads are closed in winter and the area is inaccessible. July and August offer the most reliable conditions. A 4x4 vehicle or highland bus is required. Book mountain huts early for the Laugavegur trail.