Laugarvatnshellar (Laugarvatn Caves)

Laugarvatnshellar are two man-made caves cut into a soft rock outcrop on the Laugarvatnsvellir plains, between Þingvellir National Park and the village of Laugarvatn on the Golden Circle. Families lived in them until 1922, which makes this the last place in Iceland where people made a home in a cave.

The cave house was dug out and rebuilt in 2017, and it is now shown on short guided tours by the family that runs the site under the name Caves of Laugarvatn. It takes 25 minutes, sits almost on the road you already drive between Þingvellir and Laugarvatn, and tells a part of Icelandic history the big sights leave out.

What are Laugarvatnshellar?

The name means "Laugarvatn caves". Laugarvatnshellir, the singular form, is used for the main cave. There are two rooms hollowed out of móberg, the soft, compacted volcanic rock (tuff) that forms many of the hills in this part of Iceland. Móberg is easy enough to cut with hand tools, which is why the rock is covered in names, initials and dates carved by visitors over more than a century.

Nobody knows who first dug the rooms or when. One theory credits the Papar, Irish monks said to have reached Iceland before the Norse settlement of 874, but there is no firm evidence for it. What is documented is their later use: for centuries the caves sheltered shepherds and their flocks on the old route between the Laugardalur valley and Reykjavík.

The cave people of Laugarvatn

Two couples turned the caves into a farm, and their stories are the heart of the tour.

In 1910 the newly married Indriði Guðmundsson (22) and Guðrún Kolbeinsdóttir (17) moved in, because there was no farmland to be had in the valley. They called the place Reyðarmúli, kept animals and sold coffee to people travelling past. They lasted about a year.

In spring 1918 Jón Þorvarðarson and Vigdís Helgadóttir arrived and stayed for four winters. It was a brutal time to try: the winter of 1918 was one of the coldest Iceland has recorded, Katla erupted that October, and the Spanish flu reached the country in the autumn. The couple kept sheep, horses and a cow in the second room, grew potatoes on the sunny southern slope and sold ptarmigan in Reykjavík. Three children were born in the cave.

Travellers on their way to Þingvellir stopped for skyr, cream and cakes. In 1921 King Kristján X rode through on his tour of Iceland and was served from Vigdís's kitchen in the hillside. The family bought a farm of their own in 1922 and left, and the caves slowly filled with drifting soil until the 2017 restoration.

What you see on a Laugarvatnshellar tour

The tour starts at the service area by the car park and climbs about 100 metres up a natural earth path to the cave front. Inside, the outer wall and window have been rebuilt and the beds and stove are back in place. You are standing in a home rather than looking at a display case.

Guides are often one of the two brothers who run the site. They cover how the families lived and fed themselves through the winters, using the old photographs that survive. The local folklore gets its share too, including a shepherd dragged around the cave by something unseen on the night before a blizzard. After the 25 minutes you are free to walk the hillside and look out across the plains for as long as you like.

Access is by guided tour only. The site is a protected historic place, so there is no self-guided entry.

Laugarvatnshellar prices and opening hours

Prices for 2026, from the Caves of Laugarvatn site:

• Adults: 2,000 ISK
• Children aged 5–15: 1,000 ISK
• Under 5: free
• Private tour with food tasting: from 36,000 ISK for up to 12 people

A taste of fermented shark and brennivín can be added to the standard tour for 1,000 ISK per person. If you have not tried hákarl yet, our traditional Icelandic food guide explains what you are letting yourself in for.

The caves open daily from April to October, from 09:00 to 18:00 on weekdays and 10:00 to 18:00 at weekends. Tours leave every 30 minutes in English and Icelandic. From November to March there are no scheduled tours, but the operator will try to arrange a visit if you write ahead.

Walk-ins are welcome, though summer afternoons fill up, and booking is the only way to guarantee a time. Cancellation is free up to 24 hours before your slot, and private tours need 12 hours' notice.

How to get to Laugarvatnshellar

The caves sit on Route 367, a short side road off Route 365 on the stretch between Þingvellir and Laugarvatn. The operator describes the site as about two kilometres off the main road, 15 minutes from Þingvellir and an hour's drive from Reykjavík. Parking is free, with space for coaches, and there is a toilet on site.

Driving the classic loop clockwise, you reach the turn-off after leaving Þingvellir and before the descent into Laugarvatn. That makes the caves an easy addition to self-drive Golden Circle options, since the detour costs only a few minutes each way.

Is Laugarvatnshellar accessible?

The path from the car park is about 100 metres of natural ground at a gentle slope of around 12 degrees. The operator notes that their oldest visitor so far was 92, but the caves are not wheelchair accessible.

No special gear is needed. Wear whatever suits the weather outside, and bring a light jacket in summer, because the cave stays cool.

How long to spend at Laugarvatnshellar

The tour itself is 25 minutes. Allow 40 minutes to an hour in total, including parking, the walk up and a look at the view across the plains towards Laugarvatn.

Because the tour is indoors, it works just as well in rain or wind as on a fine day, and many visitors find bad weather makes the story more convincing. That makes it a useful stop when the weather spoils a viewpoint elsewhere.

Things to do near Laugarvatnshellar

The caves sit between two of the Golden Circle's best stops. Fifteen minutes west, the national park at Þingvellir has the rift valley, Almannagjá gorge and the site of the old parliament.

If you have more time, the operator suggests the walk across the plains to Álfakirkja, the "elf church", which takes about an hour there and back from the caves.

Seven minutes east, the road drops into Laugarvatn, where hot springs rise along the lakeshore. For a geothermal break after the tour, Fontana's geyser steam bath sits right on the water.

Photo: Steinninn, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons