Raudibotn Crater

Rauðibotn — “the red hollow” — is one of the most colourful craters in the Icelandic interior. It sits on the Eldgjá fissure, torn open by the Katla volcano in the tenth century. Rust-red and ochre slopes drop to a still pool fringed with vivid green moss. Nearby, a glacial river and a black lava desert reach towards the lone cone of Mælifell and the Mýrdalsjökull ice cap. Few people make it here — only in summer, and only by highland track.