← Treksup

Laugavegur: 4 stages and when to book

Iceland’s classic: from the hot springs and coloured hills of Landmannalaugar over a plateau of snow and obsidian, down across black sand and glacial rivers to the birch woods of Þórsmörk. Four days between the huts Ferðafélag Íslands has run since 1978, with your own sleeping bag and food, wading shoes in the pack, and weather that can change in an hour.

4 days53 km1,446 m of climbinghighest point 1,055 mmoderate

Start: Landmannalaugar. Finish: Þórsmörk.

The 4 stages

DayStageDistanceClimb
1Landmannalaugar → Hrafntinnusker10.1 km630 m
2Hrafntinnusker → Álftavatn11 km150 m
3Álftavatn → Emstrur15.8 km237 m
4Emstrur → Þórsmörk15.8 km429 m

The line is the OpenStreetMap route relation, chained and cut at the FÍ huts and checked against FÍ’s own stage distances, with one 234 m mapping gap bridged. Elevation comes from a terrain model and times are computed. Treat the figures as close rather than exact.

Book these first

FÍ runs every hut on the trail and opens bookings the preceding autumn; July and August huts are reported to sell out within weeks of opening.

FÍ expects you to have confirmed hut or campsite bookings before you start. Arrive without one and a bed cannot be promised.

Hrafntinnusker is the smallest hut (52 beds) and the one everybody needs on night one, so it decides whether your dates work.

When to go

FÍ gives June 25 to September 15 as the average season. The highland buses run from mid-June to early September; outside that window there is no way in or out without your own arrangements, and no huts.

Laugavegur in Treksup

Laugavegur is a paid route in Treksup: its full plan, with every stage, water, where to sleep and weekly trail conditions, comes with the paid tier. 7 routes are open in full for free.

See Treksup on the App Store

Your first multi-day trek

More routes

Page updated 30 September 2026.