Grjótagjá

Useful Information

photography — Grjótagjá, Iceland. Public Domain.

Location:	At the Mývatn (mosquito lake) near Húsavik. (65.6264141, -16.8829708)
Open:	visible through gate. [2020]
Fee:	free. [2020]
Classification:	blister cave
Light:	none
Dimension:	T=50 °C (water)
Guided tours:	self guided
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
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As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

18th century	the outlaw Jón Markússon lives here and uses the cave for bathing.
1938	rediscovered by English students as a bathing cave.
1977	due to higher temperature bathing not possible any more.
2005	bathing again possible.
2018	cave gated.

Description

Grjótagjá (Crack in the Rock) is a small cave with a thermal spring inside. This place was a popular bathing site until the seventies. During the eruptions from 1975 to 1984, the temperature of the water rose and today bathing is not possible any more. The water in the cave was very hot, reached more than 60 °C, but it was still possible to visit the cave.

But the temperature was slowly sinking, and has fallen below 50 °C. Since 2005 it was again possible to use the cave for bathing, though only for a limited time, similar to thermal baths in spas. Nevertheless, it was rather dangerous to bathe, and the owners placed signs that bathing was not allowed and asked the people to leave no rubbish. But the number of visitors was quite high, and they not only left some rubbish. They ignored the signs, were bathing, washing their dishes, brushing their teeth, washing their shoes, went in with glas bottles, and even used it as a toilet. Finally, the owners closed the cave with an iron bar gate, a decision we can only support. It is still possible to see the cave through the bars and take pictures of the cave. But it's not possible any more to enter. There are plans to reopen the cave officially for bathing with the necessary infrastructure like toilets and a warden.

According to local lore the outlaw Jón Markússon lived there and used the cave for bathing during the early 18th century. Fact is that it was used as a filming location for an episode of Game of Thrones, called "Kissed by Fire" (S3E5). It was used for the love scene between Jon Schnee and Ygritte. It seems they found the cave not spectacular enough, a waterfall was added using CGI.