Hekla volcano tour: what you actually do
Mostly you drive: a super jeep up Hekla's lower slopes and lava fields, often with Landmannalaugar. Nobody we list guides you to the summit.
The short version
- Hekla is about 1,490 metres high and one of Iceland's most active volcanoes. It last erupted in 2000.
- Hekla tours are super jeep days. You drive on its slopes and lava fields; you don't climb to the top.
- Shared Hekla super jeep days start around €386 and run from Reykjavík. Private jeeps start around €1,430.
- The summit hike is a summer, self-guided walk. Hekla can erupt with very little warning, so check the Civil Protection advice first.
On a Hekla tour you mostly ride. A super jeep takes you across the lava fields and ash plains around the volcano, and in good conditions some way up its slopes, and then usually on to Landmannalaugar or other volcanic sites. You don’t hike to the summit. If standing on top of Hekla is the goal, that’s a summer walk you do yourself, with a close eye on the warnings.
Why Hekla is on the list
Hekla is a long ridge rather than a cone, about 1,490 metres high, and usually wrapped in cloud. Hence the name, roughly “the hooded one”. In the Middle Ages it was spoken of across Europe as a gateway to hell. It has erupted 20 or more times since settlement, most recently in 1947, 1970, 1980, 1991 and 2000. It’s been quiet since, and you’ll hear guides say it’s overdue.
What you see around it is the result: black ash deserts, fresh-looking lava fields, pumice and very little grass. It’s the start of the highlands, a two-hour drive from Reykjavík.
What a Hekla tour looks like
Hekla with Landmannalaugar. The most common version. DT 04 Landmannalaugar & Hekla volcano, from €386, is a shared super jeep day from Reykjavík, around nine to ten hours. It passes Hekla, the blue crater lake Ljótipollur, Frostastaðavatn, Hjálparfoss waterfall, and stops for a dip in a natural hot spring. It’s listed as a summer tour, because the highland roads beyond Hekla are only open roughly from late June to September.
Hekla as one of several volcanoes. DT 07 Volcano Hat Trick, from €401, is the same operator’s all-year day. It combines Hekla with Kerið crater, Stóra Eldborg, Lake Kleifarvatn and the Krýsuvíkurbjarg bird cliff on Reykjanes, which makes it a long loop rather than a Hekla day. Choose it if you’re visiting outside summer and want more than one volcanic site.
Private, onto the ridge. Mountain Taxi’s Landmannalaugar & Hekla volcano is from €1,430 for a jeep of up to four. Conditions permitting, it drives up onto Hekla’s eruptive ridge, around 900 metres, before heading on to Landmannalaugar and the Gjáin valley. Hekla & Mælifell Adventure, from €1,680 for a private group of up to four, runs all year from Hvolsvöllur. It drives up Hekla, then along the Laugavegur trail to Mælifell and the Markarfljót canyon. Both are private prices for the whole vehicle, so they make sense for a family or four friends, not a couple.
Can you hike to the summit?
People do, in summer, on a marked trail from the north side. The trailhead is at the end of a rough track that needs a 4x4. From there it’s a steep walk up loose scree and snow, and a long day with the drive. We don’t list a guided summit hike, and we’d rather tell you that than dress up a jeep tour as one.
The bigger issue is the volcano itself. Hekla has given very short warning before eruptions, sometimes under an hour. The Icelandic authorities advise hikers to check the latest status first and not to linger on the mountain. Check safetravel.is and the Icelandic Met Office (vedur.is) on the day. If there’s any alert, don’t go.
Season
Summer, from about late June to early September, is when the highland roads are open and the combined Hekla and Landmannalaugar days run. In winter, the snow-covered slopes can still be driven in a proper super jeep, which is how the all-year private tour works, but the days are short and the route depends entirely on the weather. Operators cancel when it’s unsafe, and you get a refund or a new date.
If you just want to see it
You don’t need a tour to look at Hekla. On a clear day it’s visible from Road 1 around Hella and from much of the southern lowlands. For a slower view, the Volcano Ride at Kálfhóll farm, from €105, is a short horse ride along the Þjórsá river with Hekla across the plain. Fine for beginners and families.
Our honest take
Hekla is better as part of a day than the reason for one. If you’re here between late June and early September, book the Landmannalaugar and Hekla super jeep day. You get the volcano, the colours of Landmannalaugar and a hot spring, and it’s cheaper than any private jeep.
Outside summer, take the Volcano Hat Trick if you like driving days, or skip Hekla and put the money into an ice cave. Go private only if there are four of you and getting onto the ridge matters.
Don’t try the summit on a whim. It’s a real mountain, it’s an active volcano, and the weather up there has little to do with the weather in Hella.
