Guide · The cave

Raufarhólshellir, the lava tube by road 39

Raufarhólshellir is a tunnel left behind by flowing lava, now walked on guided tours along a lit footbridge. Here is what you see inside, how far the walk goes and what it feels like.

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Editorial team, lavacavetouriceland.comUpdated October 25, 20268 min read41 sources

The tour that goes with it Raufarhólshellir lava tube walk 4.7 (1,956 reviews) 1 hourHelmets and headlamps includedCrampons in winter from$72per person Check availabilityFree cancellation up to 24 hrs before

The cave in brief

01What it is: A lava tube formed in the Leitahraun eruption about 5200 years ago.¹
02How big: 1360 m in total, up to 30 m wide and up to 10 m high.² ³
03The walk: About 1 hour on a footbridge, helmet and headlamp included, from $72.
04Inside: Around 0 to 4 °C, with water dripping from the ceiling.⁴
05Where: Approximately 30 km from Reykjavík, beside road 39.⁵ ⁶

A tunnel left behind by moving lava

Raufarhólshellir is what remains when a river of molten rock drains away beneath its own roof. The cave's operator says it formed as a lava tube during the Leitahraun eruption, which took place east of the Bláfjöll mountains about 5200 years ago.¹ ⁷ Walking into it, you follow the route the lava itself once took, along a floor and between walls that were shaped while the rock was still glowing. Few places make the inside of an eruption so easy to picture.

The process is simple to describe. The operator explains that a lava tube forms when a runny, low-viscosity flow grows a continuous hard crust, which thickens into a roof above the stream still moving below.⁸ The US Geological Survey adds that when the supply stops at the end of an eruption, the lava in the tube drains downslope and leaves partly empty conduits under the ground.⁹ Raufarhólshellir is one of those conduits, and it is wide enough to walk through standing upright.

The setting matters too. Visit South Iceland describes many caves in the lava fields of Ölfus and names Raufarhólshellir, by road no. 39, as the largest of them.¹⁰ Above ground the lava field looks like a rough, mossy plain beside the road, and nothing hints at the space underneath until you reach the opening. The contrast between that quiet heath and the hall of rock below is the first surprise of a visit to the Raufarhólshellir lava tunnel.

Your hour

From the parking lot to total darkness

Before you go

Drive out

Less than 30 minutes by car from Reykjavík, approximately 30 km.⁵
On arrival

Meet at the cave

The listing's meeting point is the cave itself on Þorlákshafnarvegur.
At the door

Helmet and headlamp

Both are included, and crampons too in winter.
Near the entrance

Columns of light

Where the ceiling caved in, daylight falls into the tunnel.¹¹
Further in

The footbridge

Paths cross the roughest rock, lit to show the colors.¹² ¹³
Deep inside

Lights out

The guide switches the lights off for a moment of darkness.

How big the cave really is

The numbers are generous for a lava cave. According to the operator, the tunnel runs 1360 m in total, and its main passage is 900 m long.² It is up to 30 m wide with headroom of up to 10 m, which the operator counts among the most expansive lava tunnels in Iceland.³ Inside, that means halls where a group of visitors looks small, and where the beam of your headlamp fades long before it reaches the far wall.

The standard walk does not cover all of it. The operator describes it as a visit to the part of the tunnel that is easily accessible for most people, lasting approximately 55 to 60 minutes.¹⁴ Beyond that stretch the floor turns into heaps of broken rock. At the far end the tunnel splits into three smaller passages where lava falls and other formations are clearly visible, and only the longer adventure tour goes that far.¹⁵ ¹⁶

That deeper trip is a different undertaking. The operator puts it at 3 to 4 hours in the tunnel, with an age limit of 12 and hiking boots with ankle support required.¹⁴ ¹⁷ ¹⁸ For a first visit, the hour on the footbridge shows plenty of the scale: the width of the main passage, the colors in the rock and the daylight falling through the roof near the entrance. If you love rough ground and have the time, the full length is waiting for another day.

In metres

The size of the tube

Length, width and headroom as the cave's operator gives them; the width and height are maximums, not averages.² ³

Key figures

Raufarhólshellir in numbers

What	Figure	Source
Age of the lava	About 5,200 years	Cave operator
Total length	1,360 m	Cave operator
Main passage	900 m	Cave operator
Width	Up to 30 m	Cave operator
Headroom	Up to 10 m	Cave operator
Air in the cave	Around 0 to 4 °C	Cave operator
From Reykjavík	Approximately 30 km	Cave operator
Film shot inside	Noah (2014)	Visit South Iceland

Figures as the cave's operator and Visit South Iceland publish them.¹ ² ³ ⁴ ⁵ ¹⁹

Three ways in

Pick how you see the cave

Raufarhólshellir Lava Tunnel: Underground Expedition

Booked most

The hour on foot

Meet at the cave

Time: 1 hour
Gear: Helmet, headlamp
Price: from $72

See this tour

From Reykjavik: Raufarhólshellir Lava Tunnel Tour

No car needed

With a city coach

From Reykjavík

Time: 1 to 3 hours
Coach each way: 40 minutes
Price: from $68

See this tour

Raufarhólshellir: Lava Falls Adventure Tour

For fit walkers

To the lava falls

Private group, deeper in

Underground: 3 to 4 hours
Minimum age: 12
Price: from $223

See this tour

Decision helper

Which visit fits your day

Start from what you have: a car, time, or a taste for rough ground

I have a car and an hour to spare I am in Reykjavík without a car I want to reach the very end of the cave I struggle with steep stairs or balance I am visiting in midwinter

The 1-hour walk

It starts at the cave itself, from $72.

The coach version

A coach takes 40 minutes each way to the same guided hour.

The lava falls tour

It goes beyond the standard tour to the lava falls at the end of the tunnel.¹⁶

Think twice

The operator does not recommend the standard walk for difficulties with balance or steep stairs.²⁰

Any of them

The cave is reached year round, and the listing adds crampons in winter.²¹

Near the entrance of the tunnel the ceiling has caved in creating three beautiful columns of light inside the tunnel.

The Lava Tunnel (Raufarhóll ehf)Source 11

Light from the roof and ice in winter

The most photographed spot sits close to the entrance. Here, the operator says, the ceiling has caved in and created three columns of light inside the tunnel.¹¹ On a bright day the beams fall through the openings onto the rubble below and pick out the moss at their edges. On a grey day the light is softer but still striking, because everything around it is so dark. The US Geological Survey calls such openings in the roof of a lava tube skylights.²²

Winter changes the entrance completely. Every winter, ice sculptures form inside the entrance of the cave, according to the operator.²³ Snow drifts in under the skylights and builds white mounds on the black rock, and dripping water freezes into pillars and knobs on the floor. Guest photos show ice formations standing like candles between the boulders near the stairs. The listing includes crampons in winter, and that first frozen stretch is where you will be glad of them.

Summer brings a different mood. The snow melts back from the openings, the moss turns green around the skylights, and the long Icelandic days keep the light shafts bright well into the evening. The operator's hours page lists the cave as open every day from 09:00 to 17:00, with evening tours on select days.²⁴ Whatever the season, the deeper sections stay dark, and there your headlamp and the lights along the path do the work.

Map

Where the lava caves are

First the lava fields between Reykjavík and Hveragerði with the three caves near the capital, then west Iceland with Silfra, Vatnshellir and Víðgelmir.

Map of south-west Iceland with Reykjavík, Hveragerði and the caves Raufarhólshellir, Arnarker and Leiðarendi — Caves near Reykjavík

Map of west Iceland with Reykjavík, Raufarhólshellir, Silfra in Þingvellir, Vatnshellir on Snæfellsnes and Víðgelmir — West Iceland

1
Raufarhólshellir
The lava tube by road 39, approximately 30 km from Reykjavík; the meeting point of the 1-hour tour.⁵
In Google Maps ↗
2
Arnarker
A cave in the Leitarhraun lava field, entered by a ladder some 16 meters down; about 516 meters long.²⁵ ²⁶
In Google Maps ↗
3
Leiðarendi
A lava tube near the Bláfjöll mountains, on road 417; its name means End of the road.²⁷ ²⁸ ²⁹
In Google Maps ↗
4
Reykjavík
Bus tours to Raufarhólshellir start here and drive 30 to 40 minutes each way.
In Google Maps ↗
5
Hveragerði
A geothermal town east of the cave on road 1, where the lava heath drops to the lowland.
In Google Maps ↗
6
Raufarhólshellir
The tube of the Leitahraun eruption, 1360 m long in total.¹ ²
In Google Maps ↗
7
Reykjavík
The capital, less than 30 minutes by car from Raufarhólshellir.⁵
In Google Maps ↗
8
Silfra
The snorkeling fissure in Þingvellir National Park, in water of 2-4 °C.³⁰
In Google Maps ↗
9
Vatnshellir
An 8,000-year-old lava tube on Snæfellsnes by road 574, open on guided tours only.³¹ ³² ³³
In Google Maps ↗
10
Víðgelmir
A lava cave in Hallmundarhraun, the lava of an eruption set at around 900 AD; tours last 1.5 hours.³⁴ ³⁵
In Google Maps ↗

Open the map in Google Maps

Checklist

Before you walk in

Included in the hour

Guided walk in English
Helmet and headlamp
Crampons in winter

Bring yourself

Warm layers for air near freezing
A waterproof jacket for the drips
Sturdy shoes, hiking shoes ideal

Good to know

Walks leave every hour on the hour
Free cancellation up to 24 hours before
Gratuities are not included

Calculator

Price the walk for your group

Pick the version and the number of people

At the cave1-hour walkfrom $72 Coach from ReykjavíkSame walk, busfrom $68 Bus tour3 hours in allfrom $154

People 2

Total from$144

each from $72

Check availabilityfree cancellation

Our sum: the trip's cheapest GetYourGuide fare multiplied by how many cavers you enter, converted with the ECB's figure for the day. The exact amount shows once you pick a date.

Video

A slow walk into the tube, past the skylights

Nothing from YouTube loads into the page until you press the play button.

The hour on the footbridge, step by step

The walk sold on this site starts at the cave itself. The listing's meeting point is the Raufarhólshellir lava tunnel on Þorlákshafnarvegur, so you arrive under your own steam. At the start you are handed a helmet and a headlamp, both part of the price, and in winter a pair of crampons as well. The guide speaks English, and the whole walk lasts about 1 hour.

Inside, the route follows a footbridge and several paths built over the roughest terrain; much of the floor around them is covered in large rocks.¹² Lighting along this part highlights the changing colors of the rock and the marks of the lava that shaped the tunnel.¹³ The guide stops along the way to explain the geological formations, and the hour feels like a field lesson as much as a walk. Bring questions: the walls are full of things worth asking about.

One moment is hard to forget. At a point on the walk the guide switches the lights off, and the darkness is total. Your eyes search for something to adjust to and find nothing at all. Then the lamps come back, the colors return, and the group heads back towards the light shafts at the entrance. The operator says the standard tour leaves every hour on the hour, and sometimes on the half hour in busy seasons.³⁶

Cold, wet and uneven: what to expect underfoot

The air inside does not follow the weather outside. The operator gives the temperature in the cave as around 0 to 4 degrees Celsius and warns that water sometimes drips from the ceiling.⁴ The cave therefore feels like a cold, damp cellar even on a summer afternoon. Warm layers, a beanie that sits under the helmet and a waterproof jacket make the hour far more pleasant, and gloves help in winter when the railings are icy to the touch.

The ground is rough even where paths exist. The operator says the standard walk suits most people but does not recommend it for anyone who has difficulty with balance, with uneven surfaces such as snow, or with walking up and down steep stairs.²⁰ There are stairs between levels, and in winter the entrance can be icy, so sturdy shoes with a good grip matter far more than style. Hiking shoes are what the operator itself recommends.¹⁸

What about tight spaces? The main passage is broad and high, up to 30 m wide with headroom of up to 10 m.³ If narrow passages make you nervous, that scale is reassuring, and the lights along the footbridge keep the walls in view. The deeper adventure tour is another matter: the operator does not recommend it for anyone who may suffer from claustrophobia, nor for pregnant women or children younger than 12.³⁷

Lost stalactites and a film set

The cave looked different a century ago. The operator writes that the tunnel was full of stalactites until the last century, but as more and more people started visiting in the 1950s they began to disappear, and today almost none are left.³⁸ It is a sobering story, and a good reason to keep your hands off the walls and leave every loose fragment exactly where it lies during your own visit.

Another cave in the same lava shows what was lost. Árnahellir, in Leitahraun, was protected as a natural monument in 2002, and the Environment Agency of Iceland describes its stalactites as too many to count, the longest of them just over 1 m.³⁹ ⁴⁰ Árnahellir is a protected natural monument; Raufarhólshellir is the cave in this lava where guided walks run every day of the week.²⁴ Seeing one helps you imagine the other as it once was.

The size of the place has attracted film crews too. Visit South Iceland calls the cave a popular location for films and notes that Noah (2014) was partly shot inside.¹⁹ Standing in the main passage, the appeal is obvious: the walls glow red and orange under the lamps, the roof arches overhead like a vault, and the far end disappears into black. The company that runs the walks is Raufarhóll ehf.⁴¹

Booking the hour at the cave

The Raufarhólshellir cave tour sold here starts from $72 and is rated 4.69 from 1,956 reviews on GetYourGuide. You can reserve now and pay later, and cancel free of charge up to 24 hours before your slot. The price covers the guided walk, the helmet and the headlamp, plus crampons in winter; gratuities are not included.

Getting there is up to you. The operator's directions are simple: from Reykjavík head east on road 1 for about 18 km, then turn right onto road 39 towards Þorlákshöfn for another 12 km, and the parking lot is right by the road.⁶ That is less than 30 minutes from the capital by car.⁵ Without a car, the same guided hour is sold with a coach from Reykjavík from $68, with 40 minutes on the bus each way.

Is it worth an hour of your trip? If you have never stood inside a lava tube, this is an easy way to do it near the capital: a lit footbridge, gear handed to you at the door and a guide who explains what you are looking at.¹³ Pair it with a drive along the south coast or a stop in Hveragerði, and the cave fills a gap in a day that would otherwise be spent behind the wheel.

Under the lava

Walk into a tunnel the lava made.

Pick a slot, park at the cave on road 39 and step underground with a guide.

See datesfrom $72 · cancel without a fee 4.7 · 1,956 checked reviews

You ask,we answer.

How old is Raufarhólshellir?

About 5200 years. It formed in the Leitahraun eruption east of the Bláfjöll mountains, according to the cave's operator.⁷

How long is the cave?

1360 m in total. The main tunnel is 900 m long; the standard walk covers the easily accessible part.² ¹⁴

How cold is it inside the cave?

Around 0 to 4 °C. Water also drips from the ceiling, so a waterproof jacket helps.⁴

Do I need my own helmet or light?

No. The listing includes helmets and headlamps, plus crampons in winter.

Is the walk difficult?

It is easy for most people. A footbridge and paths cross the roughest rock, but the operator does not recommend it for people with balance problems or trouble on steep stairs.¹² ²⁰

How far is the cave from Reykjavík?

Approximately 30 km. Less than 30 minutes by car: road 1 east for about 18 km, then road 39 for another 12 km.⁵ ⁶

Was a film shot in the cave?

Yes. Visit South Iceland says the film Noah (2014) was partly shot in the cave.¹⁹

When is the cave open?

Every day from 09:00 to 17:00. Those are the opening hours on the operator's site, with evening tours on select days.²⁴

Sources