I am inside a Volcano!!!

Ahh today I am very excited because we are going inside a volcano. Iceland has the only volcano on earth where this is possible – the Thrihnukagigur (which means “Three peaks volcano”) last erupted 4000 years ago, so it’s safe right?

First we have to walk for 1 hour across a lava field until we reach the entrance of the volcano.

To get in the volcano we go in this lift…

The lift take us down 120 meters, the first bit is quite tight but then we reach the enormous and intimidating chamber!
The magma chamber of this volcano could easily fit the New York City’s Statue of Liberty.

This place is amazing! This is real, I am inside a volcano!

Apparently nobody knows exactly how the magma chamber in Thrihnukagigur was emptied, some volcanologists suggest that the lava got stuck in the walls and solidified or it may have just sunk down into the Earth.

Even though the rocks look like they fell down from the walls, our guide says ever since the volcano was first explored, it was never noticed a rock falling, so it seems to be a safe place.
But just because a volcano has been asleep for so long, it doesn’t necessarily means it is inactive forever.

Other characteristic of being inside the crater is it feels like it’s raining, when in fact outside is not, but drops keep falling from the ceiling. And it’s always 4 to 5ºC temperature inside the crater.

We have up to 1 hour to explore the crater. There are parts where the chamber goes deeper. And the colors on the wall keep changing as we walk around.

Time to go out, the lift is waiting for us!

This tour only started in 2012, last year, and it only runs on the warmer months of the year with a limited number of people per tour. They have plans to invest in this tour and make it accessible to everybody.

At the moment it costs 37 000 ISK, which is equivalent to 195£! But I think it was worthy – we feel so small next to the sheer magnitude of this place, it’s a remarkable and unique experience! **UPDATE 2015** it now costs 42000 ISK **

Back outside, we got to meet Funi, a 12 weeks baby Arctic Fox that got lost from his mum and the Volcano team adopted. 😉 eventually I managed to hold her in my arms, but she definitely has a wild spirit! So cute!