Iceland 2023 Day 5

Lava tubes and waterfall hunting

Posted by brian on June 15, 2023 · 3 mins read
  • Start of day: Húsafell Cottage
  • End of day: Húsafell Cottage

Good morning from the Húsafell cottage.

Red wooden cottage with white trim and covered deck at Húsafell Airbnb accommodation

Lava tube adventure

We left for the lava tube around 12:10. Amazing cave tour! Lots of photos. Rowan liked it especially.

Person standing on ancient lava field with dramatic rock formations under partly cloudy sky near Húsafell

Víðgelmir Cave tour brochure showing Iceland's Mightiest Cave with tour information

Family group wearing helmets descending into Víðgelmir lava tube cave entrance

Tour group with headlamps gathered inside dark Víðgelmir cave chamber

Metal staircase leading up to cave opening with natural light streaming into Víðgelmir lava tube

Three family members with headlamps exploring dark tunnel inside Víðgelmir cave

Large tour group wearing helmets gathered outside Víðgelmir cave tour building before descent

After lava tube we came over to the Hùsafell Hotel bistro place – 3 of us split a meat lovers pizza and Siena had tempura shrimp.

Húsafell Hotel Bistro pizza menu featuring Bistro Húsafell Pizza branding with various pizza options

Interior of Húsafell Hotel Bistro dining room with wooden tables, black chairs, and large windows

We relaxed back at the cottage for awhile, and set out to try to find some hiking trails which were supposed to start on property.

The trails that couldn’t be found

There are elaborate hiking trail maps but we couldn’t find any of them. We really tried. They have printed maps, we asked a staff members, we scoped it out with the car. We could. Not. Find. Them.

Person reading Húsafell information sign along scenic path with mountains in background

We bailed on that, grabbed the car, and headed to Hraunfossar Waterfall, which is just a few minutes away.

Brian standing at wooden overlook viewing Hraunfossar waterfall with lava rock landscape

Child in pink jacket posing at Hraunfossar waterfall viewing area with river and lava formations behind

We spent about 30 mins there. Back “home”, we cooked pork chops on the filthy grill (which I left much cleaner than I found it), and combined with potatoes and a veggie for a decent home-cooked meal… at a fraction of the price of eating out.

Later, the kids made another trip to the jump pillow at 10:30pm because why not, it doesn’t get dark here, and then back at the cottage for the night.