One of the many delights of Iceland, and a particular favourite of mine, is being able to take a dip in a natural hot pool in the middle of nature.
Soaking in hot pools is very popular amongst tourists and locals alike, and few things beat soaking in a lovely warm pool in the middle of a bright summer night after a long day of travelling in Iceland.
Top photo: Hrunalaug
Hrunalaug pool
I have already shown you the many natural hot pools in the Westfjords of Iceland and a couple of natural hot springs in West Iceland in other travel blogs.
In this travel blog, I want to tell you a little bit about the lovely little gem, Hrunalaug hot pool in Hrunamannahreppur, a rural district in South Iceland.
Hrunalaug is privately owned and was built in the 1890s by the farmer at Ás farm, Stefán Jónsson, and has belonged to the same family ever since. Steindór Eiríksson owns this land with his two sisters.
My photos of Hrunalaug were taken in the middle of a June night, after my visit to Gjáin and Háifoss waterfall.
Relaxing in the Laundry pool
The family of the farm Ás would soak in the pool and use it for washing their laundry, thus its name, Laundry pool.
In 1935, another pool called the Sheep pool was erected by the farmer at Ás, Steindór Eiríksson. He erected that pool for bathing his sheep, as was the custom to do every two years.
This was done to prevent the disease scrapie, which has infected many of our sheep. Scrapie is such a dreadful disease. Not to worry, though, when soaking in the Sheep pool, as sheep haven't been washed in this pool since the 1980s.
Hrunalaug pool and Laugarlækur creek - the rocks should never be tampered with
Then we have the tourist pool, built in 2017 by the current owners when Hrunalaug became very popular.
Since I wrote this travel blog several years ago, the owners of Hrunlaug decided to charge an entrance fee and have started advertising this little gem. You can check out their website, Hrunalaug.
I want to tell you a little bit about how the owners started charging an entrance fee.
Hrunalaug pool
Some visitors' behaviour so saddened the owners of this lovely pool that they even considered destroying it with a bulldozer.
Inconsiderate visitors had been leaving a lot of rubbish by the pool, so the owners had to clean it up regularly.
And even the rocks in the pool had been rearranged. These rocks were stacked by the great-grandfather and grandfather of the owners of Hrunalaug and should never be tampered with.
People relaxing in the Sheep pool
The pool is their private property, and they graciously allowed us to enjoy it with them.
But there were so many visitors to the pool that they couldn't even enjoy soaking in peace in their pool themselves any longer.
One night, the owners of Hrunalaug, who live at Ás farm, woke up to see their precious hot pool in this condition: Mbl. - Hrunalaug!
The article is in Icelandic, but the photos speak for themselves.
The parking by Hrunalaug back in 2015 - there is no camping by the pool
Empty wine and beer bottles were left behind all around the pool for the owners to pick up. The leftover litter filled two big bags!
Since this incident, the owners of Hrunalaug have decided to close the pool at night (from 10 pm) and have a guard on duty.
These farmers had other things to attend to besides guarding the pool at night and continually picking up litter around it.
The path leading to Hrunalaug pool
In the end, they decided to charge an entrance fee and advertise the pool. This is a good idea.
So Hrunalaug has changed a lot since I took these photos. Now there are toilets here, and the pools have been renovated, as it were. There are now plans to add changing rooms and showers (2024).
The opening hours in the summertime are from 8:00-23:30, and in the wintertime from 9:00-22:30. You can check out the prices and get more information on their website, Hrunalaug.is.
Have a lovely time in Iceland, and let's always show respect for Iceland's natural pools!
