Into the Glacier ice tunnel

Into the Glacier: Langjökull Ice Tunnel

One of the most unique experiences in Iceland is a trip to the “Into the Glacier” ice tunnel. Imagine walking through a tunnel carved into the heart of Iceland’s second largest glacier, Langjökull, surrounded by thousands of years of ice that glitters like millions of diamonds.

Unlike other ice caves created by Mother Nature, this tunnel is man-made. During the organized tour, our guides revealed many details about its creation and purpose, and thus we were left in mute amazement at man’s ingenuity and determination.

We hesitated for a long time which glacier and cave to visit in Iceland, until we decided to visit both Langjökull and Vatnajökull. That way we can compare them.

Organised trip

You can’t visit the ice tunnel on your own, as you can’t visit any ice cave – it’s for safety reasons. For this reason, you have several options to book your trip. Either with transport from Reykjavík as well, or transport yourself to the meeting point in Húsafell. We used this option as we had a car and it was much more cost effective.

Here, a former military truck awaits to take you up to the glacier. The men were blown away and perhaps all took pictures with the car. Just the journey was an experience for them. For my friend and I, it was just a car and we were much more excited about the fact that it had started snowing.

The trip to the glacier takes between 45 minutes and 1.5 hours, depending on snow conditions along the way. Our trip was supposed to take 3-4 hours in total, but ended up taking almost 5, as the heavy snow made the trip more challenging.

Witness the climate crisis

On the way, our guide talked a lot about the glacier itself. He told us how it was slowly melting, and that they had already lost one glacier completely. It was called Okjökull, and it disappeared completely back in 2014.

Along the way, you’ll see markers that have documented the glacier’s shrinking for 100 years. The first marker was from the beginning of the last century. The glacier retreated slowly at first, but in recent years its retreat has accelerated significantly. According to historical data and measurements, the glacier has shrunk by more than 30% of its original mass in the last 50 years, and indeed we have gone several kilometres from the first marker before we reached the start of the glacier.

Ice tunnel ahead

After an hour and a half the car finally stops and we get out in the snowy landscape. There was a high layer of snow all around us and to make matters better, it was snowing all around us. We were like little kids again, testing the depth of the snow and rolling around. You definitely need winter boots for a trip here .

Even here you can see the bluish ice that peeks slightly out from under the snow. Unfortunately, you can’t get to it because the colour is caused by the reflection of the sun, so when you shovel the snow, the blue will disappear under your hands.

After a few minutes of waiting, you can finally enter. Although at the beginning we were terrified of the road. There was an outstretched pipe waiting for us that needed to be climbed into. Fortunately, appearances were deceiving and after a few steps the first chamber opened up in front of us and the journey continued only through the ice tunnel.

In the first chamber, you’ll be fitted with crampons to make it less slippery, and there’s nothing stopping you from exploring the hidden beauties.

Walk through the ice tunnel

As soon as you enter deeper into the tunnel, you will be captivated by the walls of the glacier and its shades. From white to blue to purple.

Along the way you will pass through several rooms, including one where you will find an old sign that reads “Into the glacier”. The tunnel was not originally planned as a tourist attraction, and you will learn its interesting story as you hike. You will be surprised .

As you go deeper into the tunnel, there will be less light and the lighting will be provided by LED lights that look like Christmas decorations.

If you would like, you can also drink the water that flows from the ceiling due to the melting of the glacier. But it’s not easy.

After a few minutes, you will reach the last room of the tunnel. There a small chapel awaits you, which serves not only as a tourist attraction but also as a wedding venue. Several weddings take place here every year. Although the room is very small, it offers a few seats. You can stop and enjoy the icy beauty.

Return journey

On the way back, you’ll take the same path, but you’ll still get different views of the ice tunnel. Note especially the blue reflections in the ice, they are everywhere.

Also, don’t miss the room where you’ll see the buried part of the tunnel continuation. This is the other part that your guide will tell you about.

And just before the exit, turn into the next room. There, a literal palette of colours awaits you. White stripes on the ceiling and shades of purple seeping in from behind. We could spend all day here. But there’s no guide to take you here, you’ll have to make your own way. But by then you won’t have crampons on your feet. The ice is very slippery here, so you have to be careful.

How to get here?

The best option is to come to the town of Húsafell, from where organised tours start during the winter months. However, the journey from Reykjavík takes approximately 2 hours. Another option is to take an organised trip directly from the capital, but this will also deprive you of the opportunity to visit the neighbouring lava cave “The Cave”.