Epic Travel → Europe → Iceland → Southwest Iceland → Gunnuhver

Location: Reykjanes Peninsula, Southwest Iceland

Time Required: 45 minutes

Red Tape/Notes: Stay on the walkways – the area is still rather unpredictable and the ground is not entirely stable. No one wants to fall into a boiling pot of sulfur-infused mud.

What’s Nearby?:  Reykjanes Lighthouse, Valahnúkamöl, Kleifarvatn, Seltún, Grænavatn, Krýsuvíkurberg, Blue Lagoon, Reykjanes Nature Preserve

This is the site of the biggest mud pool in Iceland, and it was named for the ghost of a woman named Gunna who caused all kinds of problems (like, serious problems…as in, she kept murdering people). Gunna (or her ghost) was eventually drug into the mud pool and was finally laid to rest there. It remained a rather picturesque (if somewhat creepy) mud pool for a long time, with numerous walkways to allow viewing. But perhaps Gunna became restless, because in 2008, the spring began expanding in a rather violent fashion, splashing hot clay and boiling liquid everywhere, and consumed some of the viewing platforms. The area was subsequently closed, but was reopened in 2010 as the activity decreased to a safe level for viewing. The remnants of the hapless walkways were still visible when we first visited, adding to the eerie feeling of the place, but on our most recent visit (in 2018), the remnants of the old walkways were barely discernible, and there were new walkways everywhere.

Epic Travel → Europe → Iceland → Southwest Iceland → Gunnuhver