Hiking Trails at Thakgil, Iceland- Hiking the magical area of Thakgil camping and hiking area is a must do while in Iceland. This area is located right outside near the town of Vik. The Pakgil hiking and camping area has incredible views of glaciers, waterfalls, ravines, caves, rivers, black sand and more. It is a must see in Iceland. In this article I will cover the hiking trails, the hiking map, camping, how to get there, what to bring, the best trails and more in Thakgil, Iceland.

Where Is It Located?

Thakgil Campground is just right outside of the town of Vik. Typing the campground into our GPS never seemed to work. The best way to find the campground is to search for Hotel Katla, which is only about a 5 minute drive along Ring Road 1 from the town center on Vik. This will bring you to a gravel road named Kerlingardalsvegur.

From Hotel Katla is where you will begin your drive to Thakgil. The drive along Kerlingardalsvegur is 14 kilometers long until you reach the campground.

My post on How To Get To Thakgil Campground and hiking area will answer all your questions on the road to get there, what type of car that we took, exact directions, when to go, campground facilities and prices.

Where Do You Stay?

I do suggest staying the night in this area. It is so incredibly magical that you will want to spend a full day here on the hikes if you can. To do this it is best to have a tent or a campervan to stay the night. Don’t forget meals and cooking gear as they do not have a restaurant in this area, and it is a rather long drive back out.

Can You Go Without Camping?

If you don’t plan on visiting Iceland by Campervan or camping they do have a limited number of cabins to rent. If those are booked up I would suggest staying near the town of Vik, as it is right outside the Thakgil area. I do think it would be worth it to stay in Vik and visit Thakgil as a long day trip. In the summer the hours are long and you would still be able to get a long hike in before the sun went down. Again just make sure you have the right car to go, check my article on what we drove to it.

Booking.com

The Hiking Trails At Thakgil

There are three main trails in the Thakgil area. And an additional small walk from the campground, I will highlight all of these in this article. It is important to stay on the trail and do not make your own. I learned after visiting Iceland that their amazing bright green moss you will see in this area is VERY fragile. If walked on it will easily die. The trail will lead you to some amazing areas, stay on them and it will be well worth it. One of my favorite places I have ever visited is Thakgil! I hope you protect it and enjoy it as well!

Easy Ravine Walk

Time: 15 minutes

This is the shortest of the Thakgil Hike and probably the most unexciting walk along this area. This hike can be reached from the campground easily. There is a path that goes into a narrow ravine. You will actually pass a hydro-electric station that helps power the campground. You will hit the end of this trail before you know it, it leads you to a small waterfall and pond. The trail back to the campground is the same, as this is a short out and back hike.

Remundargil Ravine Loop

Length: 12.5 kilometers

Elevation: 250 meter gain

Time: 3-5 hours

This is also known as the purple trail on the map.

This trail can be started at the campground, as they all can be. But if short on time I would suggest driving back out of the campground for a short time, when you have passed a big bend there will be a small wooden sign on your left, take that path. Once on that road for a short time you can park in a big open area, we saw some other cars doing that. This will take you a little closer to the glacier overlook and a more straight path to the waterfall.

From the Campground

Take the road you drove in on walking right along the road’s edge. You will quickly see the trail head off to the left up a hill. Depending on the water levels you may need to cross a shallow creek. We took off our shoes, tied them to our packs and crossed over. Not too difficult.

Follow the sticks marked with purple up along the hillside. This is a rather steep climb but we stopped often to turn around and take in the greenery views. Eventually you will hike over the peak of this hill and into the ravine. I loved the downhill climb into this ravine, green moss, black sand, and a curvy river. I was in awe.

Remundargilsfoss Waterfall

Once at the bottom of the ravine you will follow the path turning left again father into the ravine. If you turned right it will take you to the parking area I spoke of before. This path will have you following along a small stream until you get to the waterfall. You can see the waterfall as you walk up to it from a distance.

Once at the waterfall you will hike the same path back out as you came in. This time passing the trail you were previously on to the right to head to the glacier viewpoint. Which is the best part of this trail.

Once to the parking area/or big dirt patch you will again head left for another out and back hike.

From here the hike will gradually go up in elevation. Towards the end of trail an even steeper elevation gain. I was struggling at this point as it was late at night, but still very bright out due to Iceland’s summers. But the climb was well worth it, once over this peak you will be rewarded with the incredible views of the Katla Glacier. A stunning 360 view. We kept walking along this trail, eventually the steep drop offs became too much for my comfort. We stayed here quiet sometime taking it all in. This area truly makes you feel like you are on a completely different planet.

For your way back to the campground you can follow the same path back out, but to save some incline climbs and time you can follow the road back out. Taking a right at the intersection to the campground, this will be a much flatter path back.

Maelifell

Length: 13.5 kilometers

Elevation: 400 – 500m

Time: 4-5 hrs

This is also known as the red trail on the map.

The Maelifell trail starts from the campground heading back out along the road. You will then take a right to head up the trailhead. The route lies down Þakgil to the Miðfellshelir cave where the sheep herders used to stay during autumn sheep herding. From here follow the track, with Miðfell on your right, up Miðafrétt range on the east side of Miðtungugil ravine, until you reach the waterfall Leynir. Then head south, up to the peak of Mælifell, and then south along the eastern rim of Raufargil ravine to Barð. Descend here to a hut owned by Ferðafélag Mýrdælinga (Mýrdal Travel Association) and from there back to Þakgil. You may have to ford the Afréttisá river on the way to Þakgil, depending on the state of the river.

Austurafretta Range

Length: 17 kilometers

Elevation: 500 – 600m

Time: 6-8 hrs

This is also known as the yellow trail on the map.

I would believe that this route would take you on the most scenic views of the glacier. The first part of the route starts like the route to Mælifell, to Miðfellshelir cave and follow a dirt track, with Miðfell on the right, up Miðafrétt range on the east of Miðtunguil ravine, up to the Leynir waterfall. Then head north towards Sker (749 m), and then east to Rjúpnagilsbrýr. From Rjúpnagilsbrýr you’ll have a magnificent view of Kӧtlujӧkull glacier and nearly all South-eastern part of Iceland. From there, go down Austurafrettéttur range to Iꝺrunarstandi, by Árnabotna and Vestureggjar, and then down into Þakgil ravine – or take the track east of Hvolhӧfuð head.

What Did We Hike?

We hiked the purple trail, also known as the Remundargil Ravine Loop. We chose this because we did just drive from Hofn, and we did not have a full day. This hike was the shortest of the three, but I am so glad we picked this one. We saw valleys, rivers, waterfalls, glaciers, black sand and more. I would say if I didn’t do this trail again I would have tried the yellow trail if we had more time. We spent a lot of time on this trail taking photos and standing in awe.