Bláhylur, also called Hnausapollur, is a blue crater lake near Landmannalaugar in Fjallabak. Add a short rim stop when the Highland roads are open and your route has time beyond the main hike.
Access reality
Hnausapollur crater lake, also called Bláhylur, is worth a pause when your Fjallabak day already passes nearby. Keep it optional if road conditions or the main Landmannalaugar hike leave little spare time.
Bláhylur, also called Hnausapollur, hides its payoff until you reach the edge: a blue volcanic crater lake set inside dark walls in Fjallabak Nature Reserve. That reveal is the reason to stop.
The cleanest use is on a day already shaped around Landmannalaugar, Ljótipollur, or the northern Route 208 approach. If road conditions, daylight, or hiking time are already stretched, keep the crater optional.
The view is simple but strong: turquoise water, black and rust-colored crater walls, mossy slopes, and open highland space.
Bláhylur is not a long attraction. It is a viewpoint with a sharp color contrast. The lake looks especially memorable because the water sits low inside the volcanic bowl while the road and rim stay above it.
That makes the stop more rewarding than it looks from below. From the track or rim, the lake suddenly reads as a whole crater rather than just another highland pond beside the route.
The main planning question is not whether Bláhylur is pretty. It is whether it improves a day already full of highland scenery.
If the day is about Landmannalaugar hiking, Bláhylur is a short rim pause before or after the main trail time. If the day is about crater lakes, compare it with Ljótipollur and Frostastaðavatn before adding every nearby stop.
Fjallabak rewards slower travel, but the landscape can tempt travelers into too many short pullouts. Choose the crater, lake, canyon, or hiking stop that changes the day most, then protect the time needed for road conditions.
Check the complete approach before setting out. The reserve authority identifies the northern Sigölduleið approach as Route 208; this should not be confused with the F208 route through the southern Highlands.
Náttúruverndarstofnun lists Route 208 from F26 towards Landmannalaugar, F225 via Dómadalur joining 208 by Frostastaðavatn, and F208 through Fjallabak towards Skaftártunga. These are different approaches. A map suggestion from Vík or another base is not proof that the road is open or suitable for your vehicle.
Check Umferdin for every road segment, then confirm that your vehicle and rental agreement permit the route. Safetravel warns that F-roads differ in roughness and river crossings, and that not every 4WD suits every road. Ordinary self-drive access is seasonal: autumn conditions can end it before your planned date, so a summer trip report is not a September access check.
The lake also sits within the wider Fjallabak protected landscape. Stay on permitted tracks and durable surfaces, avoid shortcutting across fragile ground, and follow ranger or posted guidance where it applies.
If you continue to Landmannalaugar, check its separate summer parking arrangements with the reserve authority before driving. Advance reservations and a service fee apply during its daytime booking window. That rule concerns Landmannalaugar; it does not establish a reservation requirement at Bláhylur.
The lake is visually strong, but highland days work better when every stop earns its time and driving margin.
Skip or shorten Bláhylur when your main goal is a full Landmannalaugar hike, when the weather is closing in, or when the day already includes Sigöldugljúfur and several lake viewpoints.
Give it time when you want a clear crater-lake photograph, a quiet rim moment, and a better sense of the volcanic landscape before continuing through Fjallabak.
Check highland route conditions before driving.
Use official forecasts and warnings for highland timing.
Review conservative guidance for rough highland roads.
Current reserve authority: road approaches, conduct and separate Landmannalaugar parking arrangements (Icelandic).
These name and location answers help match map labels with the real Fjallabak crater lake stop.
Hnausapollur crater lake, also called Bláhylur, sits in the Fjallabak Nature Reserve area of Iceland's Highlands near Landmannalaugar and Route 208.
Yes. Hnausapollur and Bláhylur are commonly used for the same volcanic crater lake near Landmannalaugar in Fjallabak.
Check both names if one label is unclear. Confirm the complete approach against current road status, weather and protected-area guidance before driving; a destination pin does not verify parking or access.
By ThorPublished Updated
Map
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Interactive planning map for Bláhylur (Hnausapollur) Lake
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Wider route
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Brennisteinsalda is a colorful rhyolite mountain hike in Landmannalaugar, best for travelers who can handle Highland access, changing weather, and a moderate trail before committing it to a South Iceland or Highlands route.
Dómadalur is a remote valley on the F225 Landmannaleið approach to Landmannalaugar, where lake, lava, and highland weather are worthwhile only when the road, vehicle, and route plan all make sense.
Torfajökull is a remote volcanic and geothermal area in the South Iceland Highlands, worth planning when you want vivid rhyolite scenery, rough-road adventure, and enough flexibility for weather, access, and nearby Fjallabak stops.
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