Dimmuborgir

About Dimmuborgir

Dimmuborgir is a maze of lava pillars, arches and caves on the east side of Lake Mývatn, and its name, the Dark Castles, suits it on a gray afternoon. The paths wind between towers of black rock that look built rather than poured, which helps explain why the place has collected so many stories.

The Dimmuborgir lava formations date from an eruption about 2,300 years ago in the Þrengslaborgir and Lúdentsborgir crater row. Lava pooled over wet ground, and steam rising from the marsh hardened into hollow pillars around it. When the molten lava later drained away toward lower ground, its crust collapsed and left the pillars standing, a feature that is fairly common on the seabed but rare on land.

In Icelandic folklore, Dimmuborgir is a gateway to the underworld, and in December it's known as the home of the Yule Lads, the mischievous figures of Icelandic Christmas. HBO also filmed Game of Thrones scenes in the lava field. To protect the formations, the area was declared a natural monument in 2011.

Several marked loops start at the parking lot, from a short walk past the first formations to the Church Circle (Kirkjuhringur), which reaches Kirkjan, a hollow lava vault shaped like a church. Allow about an hour for that loop, and stay on the paths, since the rock and the plants regrowing between it are fragile. In summer, rangers lead daily educational walks.

Dimmuborgir is about 10 minutes by car from Reykjahlíð and about 1 hour 15 minutes from Akureyri, on a paved road off Route 848. A service building at the paved parking lot has toilets, food service and a souvenir shop. You can visit in winter too, though the trails can be icy and harder to follow under snow, so check road.is before driving over from Akureyri.