Krafla Viti Crater: Amazing Photos and Dramatic Iceland Hike
Overview of the Krafla Viti Crater near the town of Myvatn, Iceland.
The Krafla Víti Crater was a complete surprise to me. Frankly, I arrived in Lake Mÿvatn without much of an idea as to the best places for hiking and landscape photography. But, after a little research, I found myself making the short trip out to explore the Krafla caldera and was singularly impressed with the experience that awaited me.
Krafla Víti Crater is a water filled marr, or explosion crater, in the Krafla fissure area close to Lake Myvatn in northern Iceland. Formed during the famous Myvatn fires, the 300-meter diameter Víti Crater is a popular tourist destination offering sightseeing, hiking and photo opportunities.
Located within an epic, geothermal rich landscape, the lovely turquoise blue colored lake within the Krafla Víti Crater is a wonderful sight to behold. Looking down into the lake, from the crater’s rim, is quite a mesmerising experience.
Known as the land of fire and ice, Iceland makes great use of its abundant geothermal energy resources. There’s even a power station on the mountain just south of the Krafla Víti Crater lake.
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Krafla Víti Crater: A Blast From The Past
Krafla Víti Crater, also know as Stóra-Víti, was formed during a period of significant eruptions, known as the Myvatn Fires (Myvatnseldar), lasting 5 years between 1724 and 1728.
The geothermal violence that occurred at this site must have been tremendous and extremely frightening to have witnessed firsthand. The eruptions were so high it’s reported that people could see them as far away as the south of Iceland.
Actually, the word Víti means hell in the Icelandic language. You can imagine how appropriate that name is given the belief that entry to hell is located underneath volcanoes.
Situated between two tectonic plates, in an active volcanic area, the Víti Crater was formed within the much larger Krafla caldera. A caldera is the name given to the large depression in the landscape that’s formed after the earth literally collapses following the eruption of a volcano.
10 kilometers in width, and with a 90 kilometer long fisure zone, Krafla has erupted 29 times in recorded history.
Krafla Víti Crater Lake Color
Krafla Víti Crater is set amidst colorful mountains in a geothermal active landscape. In addition to its significant girth, the colorful lake that’s formed at the bottom of Víti crater at Krafla is what adds so much visual appeal to the location.
The famous turquoise color of the lake is a result of bacteria and elements brought up to the surface from the geothermal activity in the area.
Be aware that, as the lake reflects light from above, the actual color of the lake will vary depending upon weather conditions and 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 dominant light source, be it sunlight or skylight
The weather conditions under which you’re visiting and making photos
Ideally, you’ll experience beautiful turquoise blue or jade green colored waters like I did.
I had a fantastic time hiking around the entire rim of the Krafla Víti Crater and really enjoyed the challenge of making great photos along the way.
Ice at the edge of the Stora-Viti Crater lake in Iceland.
Can You Swim in Krafla Víti Crater Lake?
I’m not a swimmer, so I wasn’t remotely interested in taking a dip in the waters at the bottom of the crater.
Nonetheless, I’ve done some research, for your benefit, and I can tell you that it’s absolutely not safe to swim in the waters at the bottom of Krafla Víti Crater Lake.
Swimming is strictly banned at this site. It’s not safe to swim at Krafla Víti Crater lake and doing so will, quite literally, be the death of you.
It’s worth noting that there are actually two volcanos in Iceland named Víti. The one where, on occasions, authorities consider it safe for swimming is at Askja, an active volcano situated in a stunningly beautiful, remote and difficult to get to part of the Central Highlands region in Iceland.
Please don’t confuse the two locations, though it’s easy to do so when undertaking your research online. Frankly, it’s the reason why I’ve made frequent references to the Krafla Víti Crater, rather than simply referring to it as Víti, while writing this post.
Actually, I tried to get to Askja on my first trip to Iceland, but was convinced to turn back by some local Icelandic fellows who knew the area and had far more 4WD experience than me.
They were shocked by the condition of the campervan I’d hired and told me I had no chance of completing my journey. I took their advice, turned around and headed back to safer roads and more easily accessible photo locations.
While I’m in no way risk adverse, you really have to know your limits. And, over the years, I’ve learned that some risks are simply not worth taking.
I did see what I can only describe as huge 4WD monster trucks making their way towards Askja. My understanding was they were transporting tourists to and from the area.
While the journey can often be just as important as the destination for the intrepid traveler, I’m just not the kind of person who enjoys being buffeted around in the back of a 4WD while the driver gets their rocks off.
Believe me, in addition to crazy bus and truck journeys across the Himalayas, not to mention helicopter and small plane flights in remote parts of the world, I’ve done my share of zodiac and 4WD adventures.
For the most part, I love them. But it’s when there’s a cowboy behind the wheel you get the feeling mishap may not be that far away.
In the case of a rough 4WD trip, I just don’t think my body, let alone my precious camera equipment, needs to be thrown around so violently just so the driver can have a blast at my expense.
Some people love that kind of experience. But, as a landscape and people photographer, I just don’t think it’s part of my DNA.
Dramatic view of part of the Krafla Viti Crater rim hike, Iceland.
Krafla Víti Crater Hike
I was thrilled to have been able to hike all the way around Krafla Víti crater.
Surrounded by lava fields and a very colorful landscape, Víti crater is a great place to hike and make expansive landscape photos. The views offered along the route are really quite spectacular and there’s lots of opportunities for great landscape photos while undertaking the Víti Crater hike around the rim of the crater at Krafla.
You’ll find a carpark conveniently situated on the lower edge of the crater walk. What’s more, the landscape adjacent to the carpark was truly beautiful. In fact I made some of my favorite photos from my entire Iceland photography trip from that carpark.
I visited during the Icelandic summer, so I’d been up most of the night driving and making photos. Needless to say I was a little unsure about being able to undertake the hike around the Víti crater at Krafla.
However, while it was very windy, the walk proved to be quite easy. And 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.
Krafla Víti Crater Hike: Safety First For Photographers and Hikers
Just be careful to stay on the marked paths, as the sides of Víti 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.
Please remember that you’re quite exposed to the elements, particularly at the higher elevations, while hiking around Krafla’s Víti crater rim. With that in mind I’d advise you carry a fleece and/or windproof jacket with you.
If the wind suddenly gusts to a degree that seems unsafe, get down and lye flat on the ground. I’ve used that simple technique numerous times over the years and it’s helped keep me stay safe.
I also wore good quality hiking boots when I undertook the hike around the rim of Krafla’s Víti Crater. 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.
Photographers with interchangeable lens cameras need to be aware that windy days produce the kind of conditions when it’s wise to limit, if not completely avoid, changing lenses outdoors. To do so would risk dust and other unwanted foreign particles 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. Nonetheless, there are times when you feel changing lenses outdoors is worth the risk.
What I do, under such conditions, is to turn my back to the wind and, with my camera shielded by my body and/or placed into my camera bag, 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 or moisture have found their way onto your camera’s sensor.
The best way to become really sufficient changing your camera’s lens is to practice doing so, time and time again, in the comfort of your own home. Just make sure you’re not near an open window and that you don’t have a fan, air-conditioning or central heating turned on at the time.
When to Visit Krafla Víti Crater
While you can explore the Krafla caldera at any time of year, roads and hiking trails can become slippery and, potentially, dangerous during winter months.
With this in mind, why not enjoy the benefits of visiting during summer and make the most of the warmer and much longer days at that time of year. While you can expect crowds to increase and costs to rise during the summer months, I believe it’s the time of year most folks would enjoy an Iceland adventure.
For my part, I visited the Krafla Víti 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. Of course, undertaking the hike would be more difficult in bitterly cold and icy conditions.
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. Nonetheless, the light was favourable during my visit and I’m really happy with the resulting photos I made while hiking around the Víti crater rim at Krafla.
How To Get To Krafla Víti Crater
Víti crater and the Krafla lava fields are located about 485 kilometers from Iceland’s capital city, Reykjavik. If traveling by car, you should expect the drive to take around 6 hours, assuming you don’t stop too frequently along the way for photos.
Given there’s so much to see on the way, I expect most folks would take around 8 hours to make the trip.
Mind you, it took me four days to drive from Reykjavik to Myvatn so I could explore Krafla, including the spectacular Víti crater.
But I’m a photographer and, after traveling all the way from Australia, I was keen to see and photograph as much as I could on my adventure driving around Iceland on it’s famous Route 1, commonly referred to as the Ring Road.
The quickest way to reach Krafla is to take a 45 minute flight from Reykjavik to Akureyri, Iceland’s second largest city, and then to drive for about another 1 ½ hours along Iceland’s Ring Road to the Krafla Visitor Centre.
Once you’ve got your bearings, and picked up relevant information on weather, local attractions and trail conditions from the friendly staff at the Visitor Centre, you’ll be ready to explore the Krafla region.
For the budget conscious, it’s possible to take the 7 hour long number 57 bus journey from Reykjavik to Akureyri, and then to hire a car for the 1 ½ hour drive onto Krafla.
Getting from Myvatn to Krafla Viti Crater
Víti Crater is a part of the much larger Krafla geothermal area near the tourist town of Myvatn in northern Iceland. You’ll find the Krafla Víti Crater, also called the Stora-Víti Crater, located a short drive out of the tourist town of Myvatn in northern Iceland.
It’s well worth a visit and, as I’ve stated previously, the hike around the crater rim is a lot of fun.
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 the Krafla Víti Crater from Myvatn simply drive east on Iceland’s famous Ring Road 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 Krafla Víti Crater carpark awaits you.
Signage could be better, which is probably why I was unsure if I was going the right way. However, as the distance is relatively short, there’s really no need to panic. It might even save time to ask someone in Myvatn to draw you a map.
Photographer hiking around the Krafla Viti Crater rim near Myvatn, North Iceland.
Krafla Víti Crater: How To Photography People in the Landscape
Take a look at this photo of a photographer on the far side of the Krafla Víti 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 Víti crater rim at Krafla, 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 the human figure, more or less, at the intersection of the x and y axis. In this case that’s, 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
I made the photo of the photographer hiking around the rim of the Stora-Viti Crater at Krafla with a Canon 24-105 mm f/4 IS lens mounted onto my then full frame Canon camera. Given that the person was quite some distance away I had to zoom the lens into its maximum focal length of 105 mm.
As both foreground and background were quite considerable distances 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 physical aperture of f/4, produce optimal sharpness.
I did manage to squeeze in quite a bit of the Krafla Víti 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 the Canon full frame camera I was using at that time.
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 particular Sony/Zeiss 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.
Green pool and mineral rich soil near the Stora-Viti Crater, Iceland.
Photograph Krafla Víti Crater with a Polarizing Filter
As you can see the colors in the mineral rich landscape around the Krafla Víti Crater are highly saturated and the landscape around the 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 in 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, in my post titled Polarizing Filters - Why I Love Them
Conclusion: Krafla Víti Crater Awaits the Intrepid Traveler
Have no doubt, a visit to the Krafla Víti Crater will be a highlight of your north Iceland travels. You’ll find the hour or so it takes to undertake the crater rim walk will be a truly exhilarating experience, providing spectacular views over the crater, the surrounding landscape and the gorgeous crater lake below.
What’s more you’re only a few minutes drive away from a range of other Krafla attractions including the Krafla Geothermal Power Station and the amazing fumaroles and mud pots surrounding Leirhnjúkur Peak.
All of these locations are fascinating to visit and offer amazing opportunities for enthusiastic photographers.
Frankly, I can’t wait until I return.
