We journeyed into the Thrihnukagigur Volcano on a stormy day. The lashing rains and strong winds made our trip a challenging one. We had been looking forward to making lots of beautiful photographs of the volcano and the lands around it, but the onslaught of the elements made this quite impossible. However, the epic weather did add a strong element of adventure!
If you are interested in our experience going inside Iceland’s Thrihnukagigur Volcano, check out our post, “Inside the Volcano in Iceland“.
We were picked up from Reykjavik in the afternoon. A 30 minute ride in a van took us to a ski cabin where we were outfitted with raincoats. We then hiked for 45 minutes in the storm to base camp. Here, we were served coffee and tea. After refreshments, were were given a safety briefing on what to expect while visiting Thrihnukagigur.
From base camp, we ascended towards the crater of the Thrihnukagigur Volcano. We hiked up towards the crater, against strong winds and lashing rain. During the steepest parts of the ascent, I had to grasp onto ropes strung across wooden poles pounded into the ground, to stabilise myself against the wind.
Entering the Volcano
At the crater, we saw a narrow metal bridge slung across the abyss below. We took turns walking across the bridge towards the “elevator”, a repurposed windows washing elevator. Here, one of the guides ensured that we had our harnesses on properly and clipped on some safety equipment. We began our descent once there were about six people in the cage.
My excitement went up the moment the elevator started moving. After the ordeal of the wind, the rain and the challenging terrain, we were finally entering the volcano. The way down the lava tube was narrow and dark, lit only by the diminishing sunlight and the electric lamps below. We were all looking right down into the volcano, wondering what awaited us below.
In a few moments, we saw the chamber opening up before us. As the narrow tube widened, I experienced a realisation that I was inside the Earth.
Music: The Path of the Goblin King v2 by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Audio of the singing of the traditional Icelandic song thanks to Expat@Large
