Trekking
Laugavegur: the 55 km Trail Starts Here
Landmannalaugar is kilometre zero of Iceland's best-known trek — four days and five huts down to Þórsmörk.
Check dates and availability ↗Laugavegur stages and hut capacities, per Ferðafélag Íslands
| Stage | Distance | Net elevation | Hut at the end | Beds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Landmannalaugar → Hrafntinnusker | 12 km | +470 m | Höskuldsskáli | 52 |
| Hrafntinnusker → Álftavatn | 12 km | −490 m | Álftavatn | 72 |
| Álftavatn → Emstrur | 16–17 km | Little net change | Botnar (Emstrur) | 60 |
| Emstrur → Þórsmörk | 15 km | −300 m | Skagfjörðsskáli (Langidalur) | 73 |
Kilometre zero is the hut door
The Laugavegur begins at the Landmannalaugar hut and runs 55 kilometres south to Þórsmörk. Ferðafélag Íslands, which maintains the route and owns the huts along it, gives four days as the standard schedule, with three days possible for strong walkers and two only for the very fit. The first kilometre is the same path day-trippers take out towards Brennisteinsalda, which means anyone visiting for a few hours can walk the opening stretch and turn round. The trail is waymarked throughout and the huts are spaced to make each day self-contained, but it crosses genuinely remote ground with no road access between the two ends.
The four stages, and why day one is the hard one
The opening stage climbs 12 kilometres and 470 metres from Landmannalaugar to Hrafntinnusker, the highest and coldest hut on the route, through geothermal ground that often holds snow into July — it is the stage most people underestimate. Day two drops the same 490 metres over 12 kilometres to Álftavatn, past some of the finest views on the trail. Day three is the longest at 16 to 17 kilometres across the black sands to Emstrur, with little net height change. The final 15 kilometres descend 300 metres into the birch woods of Þórsmörk. An extra hut at Hvanngil, sleeping 60, lets you split the long third day.
Huts book out months ahead
The six huts on the route — Landmannalaugar, Hrafntinnusker, Álftavatn, Hvanngil, Emstrur and Þórsmörk — are owned and run by Ferðafélag Íslands, and each has a campsite alongside it. Between them they hold fewer than four hundred beds for the busiest weeks of an already short season, and they fill several months in advance. Reservations are made through FÍ's own booking system. Camping at the huts is the fallback if beds have gone, but it commits you to carrying a tent, mat and full sleeping kit over four days, and to pitching on ground where pegs frequently will not hold.
The rivers you wade, not drive
The Laugavegur crosses at least three rivers that must be waded on foot — Grashagakvísl, Bláfjallakvísl and Þröngá — with footbridges over several other crossings. Wading a glacial river is a different discipline from driving one: unclip your pack's waist belt so you can shed it, change into sandals or spare shoes rather than crossing barefoot or in dry boots, face upstream, and cross at the widest and shallowest point rather than the narrowest. As with the road fords, levels are lowest in the morning and rise through a warm afternoon, so an early start is a safety measure and not just a scheduling preference.
Getting back from the far end
The trail is one-way and ends at Þórsmörk, which has no road you can drive out on in a rental car — the F249 finishes at the Krossá. The scheduled highland buses are the normal way home, and the Þórsmörk services run a noticeably longer season than the Landmannalaugar ones, with Reykjavík Excursions' Þórsmörk route operating from 1 June to 24 September in 2026 against 13 June to 20 September for Landmannalaugar. Book the return leg when you book the huts. Walkers who want more can continue over the Fimmvörðuháls pass towards Skógar rather than taking the bus, which adds a demanding extra day.