LAVA Centre
About LAVA Centre
The LAVA Centre in Hvolsvöllur is Iceland's volcano and earthquake exhibition, and the best indoor stop on the South Coast for understanding the landscape you are driving through. Hekla, Katla and Eyjafjallajökull all sit within view of the building, so the eruptions it explains happened just over the horizon.
Inside, interactive rooms walk you through how Iceland formed over millions of years, where its earthquake zones run and how the hot spot beneath the island feeds its volcanoes. You can touch different types of lava and tephra, follow live monitoring of active volcanic systems, and see the Fiery Heart of Iceland, a 12-meter installation. The geophysicist Ari Trausti Guðmundsson wrote the exhibition, and the center opened in 2017.
A panoramic cinema shows a film about Iceland's most recent eruptions, and you can buy a cinema-only ticket if you're short on time. When the weather is clear, finish on the rooftop observation deck for a 360-degree view toward the volcanoes themselves.
The center sits at Austurvegur 14, right on the Ring Road in Hvolsvöllur, about an hour and a half east of Reykjavík. Seljalandsfoss is about 20 minutes farther east, which makes the exhibition an easy first stop on a South Coast day. It's open every day of the year, and a rainy afternoon is when it earns its place on the itinerary.
Tickets for the full experience cost 5,200 ISK per adult, while the film alone is 2,000 ISK and a family pack is 13,000 ISK (prices from the official site, October 2026). Opening hours are 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. from June through August and 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. the rest of the year. Allow at least an hour for the exhibition and film together.
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Good to know
Is the LAVA Centre in Iceland worth it?
Yes, especially on a South Coast trip or a rainy day. The interactive exhibition explains the volcanoes and earthquake zones you see along the Ring Road, and the volcanoes it covers are visible from the rooftop on a clear day.
How much are LAVA Centre tickets?
The full experience costs 5,200 ISK per adult, a cinema-only ticket is 2,000 ISK, and a family pack is 13,000 ISK, according to the official site in October 2026.
What are the LAVA Centre opening hours?
It's open every day, 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. from June 1 to August 31 and 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. from September 1 to May 31.
Where is the LAVA Centre?
At Austurvegur 14 in Hvolsvöllur, on the Ring Road in South Iceland, about an hour and a half east of Reykjavík. It's an easy first stop between Reykjavík and Seljalandsfoss.
Which volcanoes can you see from the LAVA Centre?
The center sits close to the Hekla, Katla and Eyjafjallajökull volcanoes, and its rooftop deck gives a 360-degree view toward them on a clear day.
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