Laugavegur

Rhyolite mountains, black-sand plains and a green valley finish.

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53.0kmReviewed plan
4daysWalking itinerary
2Map sections

Best season: Late June–early September. July and August are the core hiking months. Match your walking dates to hut openings, highland buses and current trail reports. Plan your visit

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Plan your days

Your dates

Checking the seasons, closures and current conditions for today…

The reviewed route, split at named overnight stops. Pick a plan to see its days on the map, or choose your own nights below.

Hut seasons as published. 2026: all 6 huts open 18 June to 12 September.

FÍ describes the journey as roughly 54–56 km. This downloadable alignment measures about 53 km, ending at Langidalur; hut approaches, campsites and other Thorsmork finishes can change the distance. It does not continue over Fimmvorduhals to Skogar. Finish at Langidalur in Thorsmork. Match your pickup or final overnight to this location; other Thorsmork bases need a separate connecting route.

4-day plan

Loading topographic map…
400m600m800m1,000m010 km20 km30 km40 km50 km1,053m218m
Flat (<5%) Gentle (5–10%)
Each day in its own colour, numbered where it starts; the rest of the Laugavegur in grey. Select a day for its elevation and 3D flyover.

Make your own plan

Changing the pace or where you stay suggests a new number of days: the fewest that keep each day under 8 h of walking and in daylight, where a place to stay allows.

Choose your nights (3 nights)

Days end where the route has a stay, a camp or a village.

Day by day

  1. Day 1

    Landmannalaugar to Hrafntinnusker hut

    One reviewed day

    Distance
    10.1 km
    Climb
    +537 / −104 m
    Walking
    3 h 36our walking estimate

    Overnight

    Höskuldsskáli (Hrafntinnusker)

    Staffed mountain hut · 1,100 m · Ferðafélag Íslands (FÍ)

    Pick a date to check the season.

    Season
    2026 18 June 2026 to 16 September 2026 The first and last nights FÍ sold. On average open 25 June to 16 September, depending on the road and snow. vinna.fi.is, read 23 September 20262027 Approximate onlyFÍ has not opened single nights for 2027 yet; its five-night Laugavegur packages are on sale, with starts from 18 June to 13 September 2027. vinna.fi.is, read 23 September 2026
    Places
    52 places in total · Self-catering Kitchen with gas stoves and cold running water; latrines only, no showers; walk-in only, carry out all rubbish.
    Booking
    Book online Book each night online with FÍ, up to six people a booking. FÍ books the huts north to south only.
    Contact
    Official site +354 784 6608 fi@fi.is

    OpenStreetMap

    Book the hut or designated campsite. The plateau can hold snow and fog; check conditions with the warden before continuing.

    Day 1 GPX Open in Planner

  2. Day 2

    Hrafntinnusker hut to Alftavatn hut

    One reviewed day

    Distance
    11.1 km
    Climb
    +68 / −544 m
    Walking
    2 h 38our walking estimate

    Overnight

    Álftavatn

    Staffed mountain hut · 550 m · Ferðafélag Íslands (FÍ)

    Pick a date to check the season.

    Season
    2026 18 June 2026 to 17 September 2026 The first and last nights FÍ sold. On average open 25 June to 17 September. vinna.fi.is, read 23 September 20262027 Approximate onlyFÍ has not opened single nights for 2027 yet; its five-night Laugavegur packages are on sale, with starts from 18 June to 13 September 2027. vinna.fi.is, read 23 September 2026
    Places
    72 places in total · Self-catering Two huts (40 and 32 places), gas stoves, cold water, paid showers. A separate company runs a summer restaurant here.
    Booking
    Book online Book each night online with FÍ, up to six people a booking.
    Contact
    Official site +354 823 4008 fi@fi.is

    OpenStreetMap

    Book a hut bed or campsite by the lake. Your final short walk to the booked building or pitch is additional.

    Day 2 GPX Open in Planner

  3. Day 3

    Alftavatn hut to Emstrur (Botnar) hut

    2 reviewed days joined

    Distance
    15.7 km
    Climb
    +158 / −228 m
    Walking
    3 h 54our walking estimate

    Overnight

    Emstrur (Botnar)

    Staffed mountain hut · 465 m · Ferðafélag Íslands (FÍ)

    Pick a date to check the season.

    Season
    2026 18 June 2026 to 18 September 2026 The first and last nights FÍ sold, inside its packages. On average open 25 June to 18 September. vinna.fi.is, read 23 September 20262027 Approximate onlyFÍ sells Emstrur only inside its packages; the 2027 five-night packages are on sale, with starts from 18 June to 13 September 2027. vinna.fi.is, read 23 September 2026
    Places
    60 places in total · Self-catering Three identical huts of 20 bunks each, gas stoves, cold water; paid showers. Phone signal on a hill above the hut.
    Booking
    Book online Not sold on its own: only inside FÍ's three-, four- and five-night hut packages (or a package with a rented tent). The campsite is sold separately.
    Contact
    Official site +354 823 5008 fi@fi.is

    OpenStreetMap

    Reserve a hut bed or campsite at Botnar. Carry food and arrange your finish transport before setting out.

    Day 3 GPX Open in Planner

  4. Day 4

    Emstrur (Botnar) hut to Langidalur, Thorsmork

    One reviewed day

    Distance
    16.0 km
    Climb
    +289 / −550 m
    Walking
    4 h 16our walking estimate

    Day 4 GPX Open in Planner

Longest day: day 4, 4 h 16.

How these plans are made

Days end at a stage end with a refuge or a village, or in a village the route passes through. Walking times are our estimate from distance and climb: no time is published for these stages. Running times use 7.5 km/h plus one hour per 700 m of climb: a steady reference, not a prediction. Daylight is sunrise to sunset where the day starts; the time left is for breaks, meals and delays.Refuge dates come from the operator's own pages; when they are not published, we say so. For villages we count the places to stay OpenStreetMap lists; we have not checked which are open. A plan is not a booking: reserve every night before you commit to these day lengths.

Weather this week

Loading the forecast for low point (219 m) and high point (1,055 m)…

Weather by month

Typical weather on this trail: at the lowest point (219 m) and the highest point (1,055 m). Select a month to see why it is rated as it is.

Monthly climate averages and daylight
Month
WeatherPoorPoorPoorPoorPoorPoorGoodGoodMixedPoorPoorPoor
Stages rated good on typical weather0/20/20/20/20/21/22/22/21/20/20/20/2
High point, day / night-1°/-6°-3°/-7°-3°/-7°-1°/-5°3°/-1°7°/2°10°/5°9°/4°5°/2°1°/-2°-1°/-5°-2°/-7°
Low point, day / night2°/-3°2°/-3°3°/-2°6°/0°10°/4°13°/7°14°/9°14°/8°10°/6°6°/2°4°/-1°2°/-3°
Rain, mm14615614812299118137152175176152154
Snow at high pointLikelyLikelyLikelyLikelyLikelyLikely––FrostPossibleLikelyLikely
Daylight5 h 278 h 3411 h 3514 h 5518 h 1020 h 4519 h 4016 h 2813 h 109 h 596 h 434 h 26

Source: TerraClimate 1991–2020 monthly averages. Averages for the area at each point’s elevation (4 km grid, corrected for height). Not a forecast or a report of current trail conditions. Snow at the high point is estimated with a simple snowpack model from these temperatures and precipitation, not observed; steep islands and high summits can hold more snow than it shows. Daylight is for the 15th of each month. Hut, transport and park seasons are separate: check them for your dates.

Before you go

Prepare for the highlands

Start with overnight stays and transport, then check conditions and pack for an exposed mountain journey.

Iceland is outside our current snow-mosaic regions. Use the Icelandic forecast and local reports; satellite landscape imagery is not a live snow assessment.

Choose huts or camping

Reserve each night before departure. Camping requires your own tent and equipment; a camping reservation is not a hut bed.

Check hut & campsite availability

Check rivers and trail alerts

Several rivers are unbridged. Ask hut wardens about current crossings and check alerts again before setting out. A mapped line or an empty closure layer does not establish a safe crossing. Keep a spare day: snow, fog and high rivers can hold walkers at a hut.

ICE-SAR travel alerts & trip planning

Plan for wind, rain and snow

Carry waterproofs, warm layers, navigation backup and reserve power. Check the mountain forecast before each day; summer dates do not rule out snow.

Icelandic Met Office forecast & warnings

Arrange food before the bus

Plan your meals and cooking arrangements before entering the highlands. Confirm supplies and facilities with each host instead of expecting a shop at every overnight stop.

FÍ food, drinks & snacks

Getting there

Book both ends of the hike

Plan the walking itinerary and your highland bus tickets together. Operator timetables are more useful here than nearby map stop names.

Bus seasons differ from hut seasons. Follow the operator links for your travel dates; no departure or connection is guaranteed here.

Start: Landmannalaugar

Compare seasonal highland buses from Reykjavík and southern pickup towns. Check whether your arrival leaves enough daylight for the first walking day, or stay at the trailhead first.

Reykjavík Excursions highland buses

Finish: Þórsmörk

Langidalur, Húsadalur and Básar are different stops, not interchangeable names. Match your accommodation and walking finish to the operator’s actual pickup point.

Trex routes & seasonal bus dates

Driving into the highlands?

Check road status, vehicle requirements and any parking reservation before departure. A road on the map is not evidence that a rental car can use it.

Official road conditions

Take your trip with you

Offline maps

Use the new connected walking plan for daily GPX and whole-trip downloads. The older reference track above still has gaps and is not enabled for navigation. Saving this guide alone is a bookmark, not an offline walking route.

Choose your days and keep the trip

Prepare in the installed app

Keep your selected itinerary as a trip, open it in the installed TrailSplits app and choose Download whole tour offline. Check every day is ready, then test reopening the trip without a connection before you leave.

FÍ maps and preparation advice

About these maps

Route & sources

Use the named journey guide for overnight planning, and the map sections for terrain exploration.

Sources checked 14 September 2026. Confirm current availability and conditions before departure.

Why do the distances differ?

FÍ’s named four-day itinerary totals about 56 km. The map here measures 53.5 km and has an unresolved gap near Hvanngil. The two map sections are viewing sections, not suggested overnight stages. Field downloads remain paused until the track is repaired and checked.

FÍ trail guide & walking stages
Which direction should I plan?

The itinerary above follows FÍ’s Landmannalaugar-to-Þórsmörk direction. The reference map and its elevation run south to north. Follow the start and finish labels when inspecting the profile.

FÍ trail guide & walking stages
What about Hvanngil or Skógar?

Hvanngil is an alternative overnight stop. Continuing to Skógar via Fimmvörðuháls is a separate mountain crossing with additional days and its own conditions, not part of this map.

FÍ trail options

Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Source relation

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