Reykjanes Peninsula – lava fields, volcanoes and strong geothermal activity

The Reykjanes Peninsula is a scorching geopark with bubbling geothermal fields where you can often see boiling mud pits of many beautiful colours emitting steam into the air.

The volcanic lake Kleifarvatn and nearby Greenlake are the first stops before you continue on to Børj between the two continents where there are crisp black lava fields and a very visible rift between two tectonic plates that are constantly moving away from each other. This is just one of hundreds of exposed rifts and faults along the massive Mid-Atlantic Rift that runs diagonally across the country, starting at the very tip of Cape Reykjanes and running north-east across the country.

Reykjanes Lighthouse and the towering sea cliffs teeming with various species of seabirds in early summer are also fantastic stops. Gunnuhver, the country’s largest mud spring, is also not to be missed. Its 20-metre diameter, bubbling clay impresses with its volcanic setting.