Hverfjäll Crater, Iceland

Hverfjäll is a 2500-year-old tephra crater that rises from the surrounding lava fields. It is a short but steep walk to the crater rim allowing stunning views across Lake Mývatn towards Dimmuborgir and back towards the Krafla region.

Hverfjäll crater in Iceland formed 2800 years ago in black and white

Hiking Hverfjäll

As we stand at the base of Hverfjäll all enthusiasm for the climb is fading.  The top of the crater, 180 metres away up an ash-covered slope, seems hardly worth the effort.  The path from the car park is clearly marked. It is steep and the gravel and ash underfoot slide around but takes just 20 minutes even at a slow pace.

As the path ascends the outer wall of the crater the surrounding landscape comes into context.  The endless lava fields slope to the shore of Lake Mývatn and the weird formations of lava at Dimmuborgir formed during the eruption can be seen looming in the distance. 

the view up the side of the volcano to the summit
the rough ash path to the summit of the crater
The view from Hverfjäll crater from the crater rim towards Krafla
View from the crater across the nearby lake and town

In the opposite direction, small craters can be seen towards Krafla which still steams and grumbles today.  Hverfjaäll is at one end of an 1800 metre eruption rift formed about 2800 years ago and is part of the 90km long Krafla fissure system.  

As the volcano erupted the magma came into contact with water and this caused massive steam explosions.  These explosions ripped the magma apart forming materials known as tephra and scoria (rocks of basalt lava with a frothy appearance).  Initially, large clouds of ash were ejected scattering over a large area and these were followed by pyroclastic flows caused by the tephra.  These flows can be seen across the area as tuff hills.

As the path reaches the crater an amazing sight is presented.  Unlike a normal crater, this crater has an inner ‘peak’ almost like a mini volcano within a volcano. The crater is about 140 metres deep but the inner peak appears tiny compared to the overall crater.  It is a little lopsided, not the usual circular crater as a landslide during the eruption distorted its appearance.  

The crater is thought to be one of the largest of its type in the world and is just over 1000 metres in diameter.   An undulating walk around the rim is possible although the wind howls even on a summer’s day. However, it is worth it for the views across Lake Mývatn, Dimmuborgir and across the Odadahraun lava fields to Mount Askja and Mount Herdubreid.

Getting to Hverfjäll

Hverfjäll is just a short distance from Lake Mývatn. It is signposted from Road 848 heading south from Lake Mývatn. The track to the car park is rough gravel and ash but is accessible by most vehicles. There is a large car park with toilets and an information centre.

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I'm Suzanne the traveller and photographer behind Meandering Wild. With over 30 years of experience travelling to different corners of the world in search of wildlife and remote locations nearly all of the advice on this website is from my own exploring.