Mount Brennisteinsalda is the rainbow mountain. The in-your-face, put-that-on-a-postcard mountain.
Streaked with yellow, blue, red and green it’s a marvel that looms ahead of you the whole trail. In fact, it’ll loom in the distance just about anywhere you go in Landmannalaugar.
Hiking to its peak allows you to inspect its geologic spectrum. As an active volcano (and one of the most popular volcano hikes in Iceland), Brennisteinsalda gets its hues from sulfur, ash, lava and iron. Chartreuse moss peppers the rocky faces and steam leaks out from fissures in the mountainside.
Hiking to Mount Brennisteinsalda
From the Landmannalaugar hut and campgrounds, it’s about 6.5 kilometers to Brennisteinsalda’s peak, making it another day hike that’ll take just a few hours. You can follow the Laugahraun trail until you reach Brennisteinsalda’s base, then peel off to head up and over the volcano. Its peak sits at 855 meters (2,805 feet) above sea level, but keep in mind the campground is at about 600 meters (1,968 feet), so it’s not a colossal climb.
It’s more strenuous compared to the Laugahraun loop, but not quite as challenging as Bláhnúkur. At the top, you’ll have a spectacular view of the lava field and neighboring mountains.