The lava level lines
On the walls like frozen tide marks.
Markus Trienke — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Markus Trienke — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Winniepix — CC BY 2.0 · Winniepix — CC BY 2.0
This is a rock tunnel from lava, open all year; ice caves are inside glaciers, a winter-only season (November-March) requiring a trip to Vatnajökull.
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You walk inside a frozen river of lava: Raufarhólshellir is one of Iceland's longest lava tubes (1,360 metres) and the closest to Reykjavik — half an hour away — formed about five thousand years ago when lava from Leitin volcano flowed: its outer surface hardened while the inside kept running until it drained, leaving the tunnel as it was left. The guided tour walks four hundred metres of it on a metal walkway under considered lighting that brings out the true colours: reds and oranges of oxidised iron, glossy black, the "bathtub rings" on the walls marking the lava's falling levels, and frozen lava stalactites in the roof — and in winter, huge ice columns at the skylights. Helmet and torch are issued, and the temperature holds at about four degrees. A longer torch-only tour for the adventurous books ahead.
On the walls like frozen tide marks.
At the skylights in winter.
Þrengslavegur, Ölfus