Vondugil Canyon Travel Guide

Steaming ground in Vondugil. Photo: David Karnå, CC BY 3.0

Vondugil (Icelandic: Vondugil, "the bad ravines" or "bad gullies") is a wet, open valley of small streams and coloured rhyolite slopes on the west side of the Laugahraun lava field at Landmannalaugar, in Iceland's southern highlands.

It lies between the mountains Brennisteinsalda and Suðurnámur, with the mountain Háalda rising beyond, inside the Fjallabak Nature Reserve. Despite the name, it is one of the quieter corners of Landmannalaugar: a place hikers cross on the longer loop trails rather than a destination with a car park of its own.

Key Takeaways About Vondugil

• Open valley of small streams and coloured rhyolite slopes west of Laugahraun, inside the Fjallabak Nature Reserve
• Name means "bad gullies"; the valley floor is boggy and cut by small streams
• Crossed on the Brennisteinsalda–Bláhnúkur loop (about 10 km, 4–6 h) and the Suðurnámur ridge walk
• About an hour on foot from the Landmannalaugar hut; no car park of its own
• Accessible in summer only (roughly late June to mid-September), via F-roads with a 4x4 or by highland bus

Why visit Vondugil

Landmannalaugar is famous for its rhyolite mountains, and Vondugil is where you walk among them rather than look up at them.

The valley floor is a braid of small, cold streams between gravel bars, and on all sides the slopes are streaked in the ochre, rust, pink and grey-green tones of weathered rhyolite, with patches of bright green moss where water seeps out.

Steam from the geothermal ground on Brennisteinsalda mountain is often visible above the valley's eastern side.

In Icelandic vondur means bad and gil means a ravine or gully, so the name translates as "bad gullies". Its origin is not recorded, but the valley floor is boggy and cut by small streams, and hikers today should expect to hop stepping stones or wade a shallow stream.

Vondugil appears on two of the classic Landmannalaugar routes:

• The Brennisteinsalda–Bláhnúkur loop (about 10 km, 4–6 hours, strenuous). After climbing Brennisteinsalda from the Laugahraun side, hikers descend its western flank into Vondugil, cross the streams in the valley, and then climb Bláhnúkur before returning through Grænagil to the hut.
• The Suðurnámur ridge walk, a marked loop of about 3.5 km to the foot of the ridge plus the climb over Suðurnámur (915 m), walked in either direction through Laugahraun and the Vondugil stream flats. This is the "walk down to Vondugil" that the 4-day Fjallabak hiking tour below refers to.

Compared with the lava-field loop, Vondugil adds running water, cotton grass and moss in July, and views back east over the whole Landmannalaugar basin.

How to get to Vondugil

Vondugil is only reached on foot from Landmannalaugar. From the hut, the shortest approach is to follow the Laugahraun trail west across the lava toward Brennisteinsalda and then take the marked path around the mountain's northern foot into the valley; allow about an hour. Getting to Landmannalaugar itself requires a 4x4 on summer-only F-roads.

Tröllhöfði valley opening into Vondugil. Photo: Borvan53, CC BY-SA 3.0

• From Reykjavík (about 3.5–4.5 hours, roughly 180–210 km): Route 1 east, Route 26 north past Hekla volcano, F208 (Fjallabaksleið nyrðri) from the north via the Sigalda power station and Frostastaðavatn lake, then F224 into Landmannalaugar. The only unbridged rivers on this route are the two fords at the end of F224; the Environment Agency recommends that smaller SUVs and inexperienced drivers park in the northern car park (P1) before them and walk across the footbridge.
• F225 (Landmannaleið) from the Hekla volcano area is the western alternative and has several river crossings.
• F208 from the south, via the Eldgjá fissure, is the roughest option, with multiple unbridged rivers, and is for experienced highland drivers only.
• Without a 4x4: summer highland buses run from Reykjavík, Selfoss and Hella, and all the GTI tours listed below include transport.

The nearest towns with services are Hella and Hvolsvöllur, each roughly 2 to 3 hours away depending on the route.

Parking: Landmannalaugar has used a paid parking and reservation system through the Parka app since 2024.

In 2025, private and rental cars arriving between 9 AM and 4 PM from 20 June to 14 September needed a reservation and paid a service fee per vehicle, and the Iceland Touring Association says the same applies in summer 2026.

Dates, hours and fees change, so check ust.is or parka.is before you drive up.

Best time to visit

The F-roads normally open in June (the Iceland Touring Association advises assuming 20 June) and close again around mid-September, depending on snow.

July and early August are best for Vondugil: snow has usually cleared from the valley, the streams are lower than in June, and the moss and cotton grass are at their greenest. Early-season visitors should expect snowfields on the Brennisteinsalda side and deeper, colder stream crossings.

Light is best in the morning or evening, when the low sun picks out the colours in the rhyolite.

Safety and practical tips

• Stream crossings are the main hazard. The water is cold and the stones slippery; use poles, unclip pack straps, and if in doubt wade rather than jump. In spring the flow can be too high for comfortable crossing.
• The valley is boggy in places. Waterproof boots and gaiters make it a far more pleasant walk.
• Stay on marked paths. Rhyolite slopes erode easily and the reserve's vegetation is slow to recover.
• Weather turns quickly at this altitude (around 550–600 m). Carry wind- and waterproof layers and check vedur.is and safetravel.is before leaving the hut. Fog can make the open valley confusing; take a map or GPS track.
• There are no facilities in Vondugil. Toilets, showers, a hut, a campsite and a small summer shop are at Landmannalaugar (fees apply). The natural bathing brook is at the edge of the Laugahraun lava.
• Hot ground near Brennisteinsalda is unstable; stay on the trail around the steam vents.