The next in our series of Iceland driving videos is out now! We travel through the hinterlands of Iceland to the Krafla Geothermal Area. The drive to Víti Crater is otherworldly, with the moon hanging still over the snow-capped mountains in the distance. An interesting thing to note about this area is that NASA has used it for lunar training missions! With very little traffic or vegetation, it definitely felt like we were on another planet.
We turn off Route 1 and head up to Viti Crater. “Víti” means “hell” in Icelandic, and with the boiling steam, the sulphurous smell, and some imagined lava, you can understand the apt naming of this crater. In the unedited footage, we both mention the pungent aroma of this area.
To get to the crater itself, you drive through the Krafla Power Station. Around Iceland, you see circular geothermal borehole houses dotting the landscape. These houses protect the top of the boreholes, and you see a few of them in this video.
At the top, you find free parking, hiking, and very easy access to Víti Crater. This crater is in one of the most active geothermal spots in Iceland. It is quite accessible, though the parking lot was thick, sticky mud when we went in October. This area of Iceland has a lot of thick, sticky mud. In fact, you see a man trying to clean his shoes on the snow as we pull in.
At this point in our trip, we begin heading towards the largest city in northern Iceland, so facilities and traffic will pick up a bit. In the next video we get very close to boiling mud, find ourselves in hot water, and take a trip to the home of the Yule Lads! Happy adventuring!
