In the middle of the Reykjadalsá river in the beautiful Borgarfjörður in West Iceland, you will see steam coming from a river.
It looks almost like a whale had found its way into the river and was blowing in the middle of the river.
This geological feature is a hot spring known by four names: Árhver, Vellir, Vellindishver, and Vellineshver. I am going to use the name Árhver in my travel blog as I find it cute - it literally means the hot spring in the river :)
Árhver hot spring
Árhver, which has been called Iceland's most peculiar hot spring, consists of some six vents on small sand flats that can clearly be seen when the water level in the river is low, but at high water levels, most of them are submerged.
Árhver rock is made of concreta thermarum, i.e., hot spring clay, and is around 1 metre in diameter, and the water coming from it is around 100°C!
The hot spring flows at 10-15 litres per second, and you can hear it boiling.
Back in 1890, Árhver used to erupt, shooting hot water up to 1.5 metres into the air.
Admiring Árhver hot spring
As is known to happen after earthquakes in geothermal areas, Árhver became even more powerful after the earthquakes in August and September 1896, erupting up to 10 metres into the air! That must have been an extraordinary sight!
Two years later, Árhver's eruptions were down to 1.5 metres again, and then it stopped erupting.
One never knows, though, when and how the landscape will change, seeing that Iceland is a volcanic island situated on the tectonic plates. The original Geysir in Haukadalur valley used to erupt frequently, but then it stopped.
My husband and Árhver hot spring :)
After a major earthquake on Iceland's national day in 2000, Geysir began erupting again, but only very irregularly.
I would love to see Árhver erupt again, but it is also ever so beautiful as it is, and I love walking down to it and just sitting quietly by it on bright summer nights, listening to the sounds of nature.
I took a video of Árhver hot spring during one of these summer nights, so you can see what it looks like. Isn't it lovely?
If you want to visit Árhver, then it is located on the way to Reykholt in West Iceland.
Just before reaching the bridge to Borgarnes on Ring Road 1, turn right on Road 50. Then turn right onto road 518, heading towards Reykholt and Hraunfossar.
After about 800 metres on road 518, you will see a dirt track on your right. You can drive down this dirt track, stop, and leave your car at this point on the farmer's dirt road (see my photo), then walk from here to the hot spring. I hope that the farmer is ok with us visiting Árhver.
The steam coming from Árhver can be seen in my photo below.
On the way to Árhver hot spring
Always show utter respect, take only photos, and leave nothing but your footsteps. This way, we, Icelanders, can tell foreign visitors about our favourite spots in Iceland.
So let's enjoy them together and keep them intact for others to be able to enjoy them as well :)
Here you can see the location of Árhver on the map. GPS: 64°39'35.0"N 21°22'33.1"W
Have a lovely time in Iceland :)
