Laugavegurinn Trek- Advice and Information

I intend to do the Laugavegurinn trek between Landmannalaugar and Þórsmörk for 4 - 5 days in July. And would appreciate if anybody could answer the following questions.

1.
I will be taking the morning bus from Reykjavik arriving just after lunch. Although most of the guides online have you setting off immediately to the Hrafntinnusker hut. But, looking at some of the photos of the surrounding area, there seems to be some stunning scenery close by, but going in the opposite direction. Namely the lakes Ljótipollur and Frostastaðavatn and it seems I would probably have to spend the first night at the Landmannalaugar hut to see these. Therefore, are they worth seeing? I only have 7 days total in Iceland total, so don't want to use up valuable time.

1. Regarding the huts themselves. I plan to camp the entire trek. What is the charge for camping? And if you are camping what facilities at the hut are available to you. Such as cooking facilities, toilets and showers / bathrooms etc.

2. If the Eyjafjallajökull eruption is still happening at that time, and nothing significant has changed with it, what will you be able to see the cloud from Þórsmörk? Hoping that there are no problems with the path to Þórsmörk at that time.

Any tips are appreciated in advance. Thanks

Edited by: mattsid1

1. These things are difficult to say. I would say bathing in the warm stream is something you shouldn't miss. The actual start of the path from L goes through quite a lot of the interesting sights in the L area, maybe that's enough for a 1 week tour given the range of what you will see in that time. A lot of people climb Blahnjukur which gives you a great view, that's a walk of a couple of hours or so. I did a wonderful full day circular walk in the area, the more easterly of the two standard advertised circular day-walks in the area, though it included a couple of hours of hte main trail, so if you did exactly that you would be duplicating. Actually it is a lot more challenging than the trek itself, no visible path, no signs, just using the shape of the terrain to navigate. Personally I wouldn't say Fr...vatn is an unmissable sight. The name Ljotipollur means ugly pool! It's quite interesting for the coloured sides of the crater, but take a look at some photos on the web to see if you think it is unmissable.

2. http://www.fi.is/en/huts/price/ indicates camping at the fi hut sites is 1000, hot shower is 400, and where access to the huts is available (eg for cooking) that costs 400, but it is not always available, notably it isn't available at L.

3. I guess so, weather permitting.

Thanks for the reply. I wanted to go to to Ljotipollur for the photo opportunity of a crater lake, and yes the sides do look martianesque.

But, it's not the be all and end all of my journey to Iceland. That is the main hike itself and I don't want to waste time going over the same ground again.

Will I be seeing other crater lakes on the journey? I think there might be one near Álftavatn if the photos I've seen are correct.