Akureyri · Iceland
Grjótagjá
Lava fissure with a hot-water cave; the car park on the open lava gives a wide, dark sky close to Reykjahlíð.
See tonight's live score and best time to go for Grjótagjá in Aurora Atlas
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Why it works for the aurora
- View
- Open 360 over the lava; Hverfjall to the south.
- Darkness
- Very dark sky, grade 0 on a scale from 0 (darkest) to 5. No towns or road lights nearby; the faintest aurora shows.
- Aurora
- Under the auroral oval: aurora can be overhead even on quiet nights.
Getting there
- Distance
- About 70 km by road from Akureyri (estimate), roughly 1 h 20 by car.
- Parking
- Grjótagjá north car park.
- Coordinates
- 65.6262, -16.8825 · Open in OpenStreetMap
Before you go
The water in the cave is hot: do not bathe.
Dress for standing still in the cold, bring a head torch with a red light, and park only where parking is allowed. A forecast is guidance, not a promise: check the road and weather warnings for Iceland before a night drive. See our winter safety note.
Spot information from openstreetmap.org.