Landbrotalaug Hot Pot: Hidden in Snaefellsnes, Iceland

I know I know. I’m way behind on so many posts and so many stories and so many pictures. I’m just going to jump around. One of Andrew’s parents’ friends (I know, irrelevant) is heading to Iceland in a few weeks so they asked us if we had any recommendations on where to go. My response— all the recommendations! Seriously, Iceland is up there as one of the best trips I’ve been on… I can’t wait to go back. Today’s story is about Landbrotalaug. This is a hot pot that is in a random field by a little pond behind an abandoned farm that I happened to find when googling “natural hot pots in Snaefellsnes.” Seriously, that’s how I find most of my cool spots… that and Atlas Obscura. If you haven’t checked out that website yet, do it. It’s awesome. Anyway, I digress.

First, geography. Snaefellsnes is the peninsula north of Reykjavik.  By car, it’s about 2 hours to the center of Snaefellsnes Peninsula. To the hot pot, it’s probably more like an hour. Rent a car if you go to Iceland. Don’t stay in Reykjavik. See the country. It’s beautiful. It’s remote. It’s beautifully remote.

Reykjavik to Snaefellsnes takes about 2 hours.

So, the great thing about Landbrotalaug Hot Pot is that I found a website that has the GPS coordinates posted (GPS: N64°49.933 W22°19.110). The not so great thing is that I didn’t find those GPS points until after we got back to the states. Oh well, the thrill of the hunt made it totally worth it. Basically, if you are driving from Reykjavik towards Snaefellsnes, you will pass Eldborg Crater (on your left). There is literally one main road, so you won’t get lost. After you’ve passed the crater, you’ll see an abandoned farm house up on a hill (Skalg). There’s a road/driveway right before Skalg. Turn left onto that road. You’ll follow the road up and around, past the farm and back into the middle of a field. Once you get a few minutes back into the middle of nowhere, you will see a small sign indicating “Heit Laug Hot Spring”. If you’re lucky, you will be the only car there. Go ahead and park and walk on out to the small pond.

Hot Pot Sign

There are two “hot pots” at the pond. Both are on the other side of the pond, so you will either have to walk all the way around or across. One of the hot pots is fed by a pipe where warm water shoots down into a very shallow but larger pool. You could probably cram a bunch of people in there but you wouldn’t be very covered. If you look towards one end of the pond, you will see a few rocks that look like a makeshift walkway across the pond. If you follow the rocks with your eyes, you’ll see a makeshift rock wall. Behind that rock wall is the mother-load hot pot. It’s small and can just fit two people (maybe 3 if you push it). It’s deeper though and you will be in water up to your neck. It’s also the warmer of the two hot pots here.

Large and Shallow Hot Pot

Please take caution when crossing the pond. The rock walkway is slippery and moss covered, so you could easily slip and cut yourself. Walking around is probably smarter… but not as much fun :0). Enjoy the hot pot. We were lucky in that no one was there when we were hanging out. In fact, no one showed up until we were leaving. I also read somewhere that this is a great spot to watch the northern lights with a cold beer. We did not stick around for that (we arrived earlier in the day and had big plans for the day). More on our epic northern lights spotting locations later.

The rocks are dangerous!

Rock Wall Hiding the Hot Pot

The Most Awesome Hot Pot

 

Enjoy the hotpot and the fact that you’re in the middle of nowhere behind an abandoned farm. Awesome. Don’t worry if you can’t find this hot pot or you don’t have time to go to Snaefellsnes, there are plenty more fish in the sea!

Until next time, a toast to cold beers, warm waters, and remote locations!