Kerid Crater
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What people say
Lisa Dahl
"💎 The last hidden gem of the tour, and it's a pretty special one: a 6,500-year-old volcanic crater lake.
📍LOCATION: The parking lot is just off Road 35. It's half an hour from both Faxafoss and Efstidalur II.
🌋 The Kerid crater was once a cone volcano that collapsed.
🚶Now you can walk around the entire caldera. There is also a trail that leads down to the crater lake.
🚫 Swimming is not allowed.
🤩 What makes this spot so special is the combination of colours.
☀️ In the summer the unique red volcanic rock is covered by mossy patches that slope all the way down to the blue-green water.
❄️ In the winter, its even more dramatic, with bits of the red rock peaking out from a blanket of snow.
📸 PHOTOGRAPHY NOTES:
☀️ It's best to get here while the sun is high in the sky. Even if the light is harsh, it really makes the blue-green water pop.
👉 If you are visiting off-season, skip Faxafoss to get better light at this spot. When I visited later in the day, the crater was in shadows.
⏰ Hours: Their website says its open as long as the sun is shining, but have also visited on rainy days. ☔
💰 Cost: 600 IKR per person. "
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Nally Preseault
"You've checked the big three--Þingvellir National Park, Geysir, and Gullfoss--off your list. It's time for a leisurely drive back to Reykjavík. Not so fast. There are still a few stops you should make along the way. Kerið is one of them.
Kerið is a colorful volcanic crater lake along Route 35 (the road that will take you from Gullfoss back to the Ring Road). Its caldera (the circular depression that forms when a volcano erupts and collapses) is still impressively intact. It's made of red, rather than black, volcanic rocks. Green moss lines its slopes. Blue-green water sits on the bottom. Plus you can easily hike around it. A one-mile loop trail circles both the top of the caldera and the lake inside it. You can now proudly say you've hiked a volcano.
Note: Since the crater lake is on private property, the owners charge a small entrance fee to protect the land and maintain the paths."
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mirka gasperova
"1. stop
– the very first stop is not among the 3 mandatory Golden Circle stops, but it is
definitely worth coming here
- entrance is paid for the low sum of 600 ISK (approx. 4 euros)
- this volcanic crater is very easily and quickly accessible from the parking lot, filled with sapphire blue water, which can be admired all around the crater and therefore from every angle
- you can also go comfortably down the stairs to get closer to the water"
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About Kerid Crater
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