Iceland
Hveravellir
A geothermal oasis between glaciers where outlaws once hid among bubbling sky-blue pools.
The hot pool sits in a circle of volcanic rock, steaming against a plateau that runs flat in every direction to the edges of two glaciers. Hveravellir is an oasis in the truest sense — warmth and water in a highland desert where Iceland's most famous outlaw hid because nobody would look for him here.
Hveravellir is a protected geothermal field on the Kjölur route, roughly midway along the pass, Langjökull to one side and Hofsjökull to the other. Its managed bathing pool holds a comfortable 30–40°C, fed by the same system that paints the ground with silica terraces, fumaroles and blue-tinged springs along the boardwalks. This was a refuge of Fjalla-Eyvindur, the 18th-century outlaw who, with his wife Halla, spent nearly twenty years in exile — sheltering here more than once, stealing lowland sheep and soaking in the springs; his stone hideout is still pointed out beside the field. A staffed hut anchors the site, and the bridged summer road in — flat, windswept, glacier-flanked — is one of Iceland's most exposed drives.
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Solo
Soaking in an outlaw's hot pool midway between two glaciers, highland desert in every direction — solitude distilled to its most elemental.
Friends
The Kjölur road trip, the outlaw backstory and a hot soak after the drive give a group adventure its built-in recovery.
- A geothermal oasis midway along the Kjölur route, glaciers holding both horizons.
- The outlaw Fjalla-Eyvindur sheltered here during nearly twenty years in exile — his hideout remains.
- The managed pool holds 30–40°C, with silica terraces and blue springs steaming alongside.
- A staffed mountain hut anchors the otherwise uninhabited plateau.
Pair the lodge’s oven-baked plokkfiskur with dark rye made using the geothermal ground around Hveravellir.
For a sweet highland pause, choose a warm waffle with house jam and cream; soup, sandwiches and lighter food run through the day.
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