Borgarfjörður, Silver circle in SuperJeep: lava tunnel and hot spring
11 hours · From Reykjavík
5(63)
From 187.000 ISK
West Iceland
Víðgelmir
Step off the last stair and the guide switches the lights off. Complete darkness. Not dark like a bedroom at night, but the kind where you can't see your own hand in front of your face. Then the lights come back on, and the cave walls are red, yellow and rust-coloured all the way down.
Víðgelmir (anglicised Vidgelmir) is the largest lava tube in Iceland, running for about 1,585 metres under the Hallmundarhraun lava field in Borgarfjörður, West Iceland. It formed when a river of lava crusted over on top and drained out underneath, leaving a tunnel in places over 15 metres high. The lava is about 1,100 years old, and people have been using the cave for a long time too: archaeologists have found traces of people from the early centuries of Iceland's settlement inside.
Tours that visit Víðgelmir
Víðgelmir cave tours
You can only go in on a guided tour, which starts near the entrance and takes about an hour and a half. Walkways, stairs and lighting have been built into the cave, so it's more of a walk than a crawl, but there are a lot of steps. It's cold down there all year, just a few degrees above freezing, and damp. Wear warm layers, a hat, and shoes with a good grip. In winter, ice formations build up near the entrance. Tours run year-round and are best booked ahead.
Pro tip: combine it with the waterfalls. Hraunfossar, where water seeps out from under the lava in dozens of little falls, is a short drive away, as is Deildartunguhver, the hot spring with the highest flow in Europe. That's a full Borgarfjörður day without much driving.
How to get to Víðgelmir from Reykjavík
Víðgelmir is about two hours' drive from Reykjavík, on the farm Fljótstunga, not far from Húsafell. Most people take the Ring Road north to Borgarnes and then head inland through Borgarfjörður. Winter roads in the valley can be icy, so check road.is before you set off.
Best time to visit Víðgelmir
Any time. The cave barely notices the seasons, so it's one of the few things in Iceland that's just as good in a February storm as on a July afternoon, and a good plan B when the weather rules out a glacier or a hike. In winter, just leave extra time for the drive, as daylight is short.
Víðgelmir features on Silver Circle and West Iceland tours by minivan and super jeep, some of them private. Tours that include Víðgelmir are below.