, also known as Viti crater, also known as Stora-Viti, is circular in shape and around 300 meters in diameter. Viti is actually a water filled marr, or explosion crater, on the slopes of the Krafla volcano and part of the Krafla fissure area of northern Iceland.

Viti Crater Lake

The Stóra Víti crater at Krafla caldera is one of two craters called Víti, which means hell. The other one is at the famous stratovolcano Askja. Stóra Víti was formed by a steam explosion in 1724 during the Mývatnseldar (Mývatn Fires). Along its rim two areas of hydrothermal activity can be found.

Did you know the name of this crater lake, Víti, means “hell” in Icelandic? It received its name because of its violent past as it was formed during a massive eruption in 1724, known as Mývatn Fires that lasted for five years.

The beautiful lake Víti is located in @visitnorthiceland in the Mývatn region, among lava fields. It was formed inside a crater called Krafla, situated between two tectonic plates, making it an active volcanic area. The area is quite large, it is 10 kilometers wide and 90 kilometers long. Be sure to add this incredible area to your bucket list

Viti Crater Hike

Is Krafla worth visiting?

Can you swim in Krafla viti crater?

How to Get to Krafla Viti Crater

Viti is a part of a large geothermal area near the tourist town of Myvatn in northern Iceland. You’ll find the Stora-Viti crater located a short drive out of the tourist town of Mÿvatn in northern Iceland. It’s well worth a visit and the hike around the crater is a lot of fun.

The views offered along the route are really quite spectacular and there’s lots of opportunities for great photos on the hike and also while you explore the landscape near the carpark.

Famous for Lake Myvatn and other nearby geothermal attractions, Myvatn is a great place to base yourself for several days of hiking and exploration in this part of Northern Iceland.

To get to Krafla Viti crater from Myvatn simply drive east on Iceland’s famous Highway One for 6 km then turn left and continue on until after you pass the power plant.

Keep driving past the first carpark and continue onto the end of the road where the Viti crater carpark awaits you.

Signage could be better, which is probably why I was unsure if I was going the right way. But, as the distance is relatively short, there’s really no need to panic. It might even save time to ask someone in town to draw you a map.

When to Visit Viti Crater

I visited Viti crater on a relative bright and warm day in July, right in the middle of the Icelandic summer.

Apparently the surface of the lake can freeze over during the winter months which, in itself, would provide interesting photo opportunities.

As with most landscape photography locations arriving very early in the morning or late afternoon would likely provide the best and, possibly, most dramatic lighting conditions.

Unfortunately, with so much else to see in the region, I didn’t arrive until mid morning.

Viti Crater Lake Color

Viti crater is set amidst colorful mountains in a geothermal active landscape. The colorful lake that’s formed at the bottom of the Viti crater is what adds so much visual appeal to the location.

The color of the lake will vary with the changing color of the light throughout the day. Factors that will affect the color of the lake include the following:

• The time of day that you visit the lake

• Where you’re standing in relation to the light

• The weather conditions under which you’re visiting and making photos

Ideally, you’ll experience beautiful turquoise blue or turquoise green colored waters like I did.

I had a great time hiking around the entire rim of the Krafla Stora Viti crater making great photos along the way.

Viti Crater - A Blast From The Past

In the Icelandic language viti means hell and the term is applied here in reference to the geothermal violence that occurred at this site in the past.

Stora Viti was formed during an ongoing period of eruptions, lasting 5 years from 1724, on the West side of the Krafla volcano at the beginning of a period known as the Myvatn Fires.

Iceland - The Land Of Fire and Ice

Known as the land of fire and ice, Iceland makes great use of the geothermal energy upon which it sits. There’s even a power station on the mountain just south of the Lake Viti crater.

Hiking Around Viti Crater

Surrounded by lava fields and a very colorful landscape Viti is a great place to hike and make photos.

What’s more you’ll find a carpark conveniently situated on the lower edge of the crater walk.

Actually I’d been up most of the night driving and making photos so I was a little unsure about undertaking to undertake the hike around Viti crater.

However, the walk proved to be quite easy, though it was very windy. But the spectacular views I experienced on that walk made it all worthwhile.

From memory it’s about a one hour walk around the rim, though as I stopped to make photos, it might have taken me a little longer.

One word of warning. You’re quite exposed to the elements, particularly at the higher elevations, while hiking around the rim of Viti crater.

With that in mind I’d advise you carry a fleece and/or windproof jacket with you.

I also wore good quality hiking boots. While the ground is hard in summer, it’s important to have shoes with good tread and excellent support for your feet and ankles on the narrow and steep pathway.

Safety First For Photographers at Viti Crater

Just be careful to stay on the marked paths as the sides of Viti crater are steep and the surrounding geothermal area is still active.

What's more, as the path around the crater is narrow, you might want to avoid making the trek on a very windy day.

Windy days produce the kind of conditions when it’s wise to limit, if not completely avoid, changing lenses outdoors. To do so would be to risk dust landing on your camera's sensor.

Hundreds of tiny particles of dust are not so easy to clean off, particularly if you’ve never done it before and you’re only part way through a major photography adventure.

Just remember, while many digital cameras have build in dust reduction technology, changing a lens in a really dusty environment could result in many of those tiny particles staying on your sensor until it’s properly cleaned. And for some folks that may require sending your camera to a professional camera service technician once you’re back home again.

What I do is to turn my back to the wind and, with my camera shielded by my body or camera backpack, change the lens as quickly as possible. If it takes more than two or three seconds to do so, you may well discover that fine particles of dust, salt, etc have found their way onto your camera’s sensor.

How To People in the Landscape at Viti Crater

Take a look at this photo of a photographer on the far side of Viti crater. Including a human figure in a landscape is a great way to bring a sense of scale to your photos.

Scale is one of the ways by which we can encourage people to look longer at the photos we make and, hopefully, to do so in a more considered way.

Despite the fact that this photo features only one part of the much larger Viti crater rim, our human figure gives us a pretty good indication of the size of this significant geographic feature.

In addition to scale, the texture on the side of the Stora-Viti crater and the color contrast between the warm earth and the cool blue color of the sky were my main considerations in making a pleasing composition.

I also waited until the figure moved to a point where he seemed to be standing, as it were, between earth and sky. I think that’s a good metaphor for the Human Condition and I hope you like the image.

You might also notice that I’ve made use of the Rule Of Thirds by placing him, at the intersection of the x and y axis, roughly one third of the way from the top and one third of the way from the side of the picture.

As I’m sure you know, this is an old and well worn technique of composition. But it works and, on occasions, I’m more than happy to incorporate it into my photos.

Landscape Photos And A Super Wide Lens

Actually, I made the photo of the photographer hiking around the edge of the Stora Viti crater with a Canon 5D Mark II camera and Canon 24-105 mm f/4 IS lens. Given that the person was quite some distance away I had to zoom the lens into its maximum focal length of 105 mm.

As the foreground was quite a long way from the camera I easily achieved a large depth of field at the relatively moderate aperture of f/8.

Incidentally, f/8 to f/11 is the aperture range at which most lenses with a maximum aperture of f/4 produce optimal sharpness.

I did manage to squeeze in quite a bit of the Viti crater in the photo at the very top of this post, though it took every bit of the 24 mm focal length to do so on my Canon full frame camera.

Nowadays I use a Sony Alpha 1 camera and several lenses, including the Sony/Zeiss 16-35 mm f/4 lens. The lens is a few years old now, and Sony have their own 16-35 mm lens which is of an even higher quality.

However, I really love that lens and it's great fun to use. What’s more, that old Sony/Zeiss lens is now selling at a pretty attractive which might be worth checking out if you’re looking to buy a wide angle zoom lens on a relatively restricted budget.

How to Photograph Krafla Viti Crater

As you can see the colors in the mineral rich landscape around the Krafla Viti crater are highly saturated and the landscape around the Viti crater photographs well under overcast conditions.

However, you might want to experiment with different white balance settings (i.e., Sunny/Daylight, Cloudy or Shade) to achieve the particular color rendition that most pleases you.

On a bright, sunny day you might also want to employ a polarizing filter to reduce the likelihood of color and texture being reflected off the surfaces of earth, snow and water.

If you’ve wondered about the value of polarizing filters to your own photography you’ll want to know the following:

• How does a polarizing filter improve your photos?

• How a polarizing filter works?

• When to use a polarizing filter?

• What polarizing filter do I use and recommend?

You’ll find the answers to those questions covered, in clear and understandable language, on my post titled Polarizing Filters - Why I Love Them

Myvatn Adventure in North Iceland

Myvatn and the Krafla region are just a few of the jewels for the adventure driven tourist travelling around Iceland on the fabulous Highway One, also known as the Ring Road.

If you have a week or two up your sleeve driving around Iceland is really the best way to experience this diverse and spectacularly beautiful island nation.

Glenn Guy, Travel Photography Guru