Laki Viewpoint

The point of the climb is the view along the crater row. From the top the fissure runs off in both directions as a line of vents, ringed in grey-green moss, with lava fields spreading out behind them. On a clear day both ice caps are visible from the summit: Mýrdalsjökull and Vatnajökull, between which Laki sits. The scale does not photograph well. In a picture the craters read as low bumps; in front of you they run to the horizon, and the size of the 1783 eruption becomes obvious in a way no figure conveys. The remoteness is part of it — this is a full day's drive into the highlands, and there is nothing else out here.

• A 4x4 is required. F206 into Laki is rough, with loose rocks and steep pitches, and it crosses rivers that are not bridged.
• Allow a whole day. The driving is the bulk of it. Come with a full tank and with food.
• No toilets and no drinking water at Laki. Bring what you need with you.

The last stretch is F206, a mountain track with loose rocks, steep pitches and a couple of unbridged river crossings — it takes a 4x4 and a driver willing to ford. Vehicles stop at a gravel car park under a kilometre from the crater; a second car park lies a little further out. From there a marked path climbs to the summit, and it can be walked as a loop or out and back.

Better: a clear day, and a dry spell before it.

Avoid: driving in during or straight after heavy rain.

Visibility is the whole reason to climb. With cloud down you get the nearest craters and nothing beyond, and the ice caps disappear entirely. Dry weather matters for the road as well: the river crossings on F206 run lower after several days without rain.

Laki lies inside Vatnajökull National Park. The walking and hiking paths are clearly marked, and visitors are expected to stay on them. Do not step on the moss that covers the craters and the lava — it is slow to recover from footprints. Driving off the marked track is not allowed anywhere in the area.