Seljavallalaug swimming pool in South Iceland – everything you need to know

Seljavallalaug swimming pool in South Iceland – everything you need to know

Seljavallalaug swimming pool is 1 and a fifty percent several hours east of Reykjavik alongside the Iceland‘s Route 1 ring street that encircles the place. From there, comply with Route 242 to the tiny vehicle park that is used by site visitors to the pool and situated just to the south of it. This fairytale area can be observed concerning Seljalandsfoss and Skógafoss waterfalls, which are a 15- and 10-minute generate respectively.

Constructed in 1923 by a neighborhood gentleman in buy to train Icelanders how to swim, Seljavallalaug swimming pool is a person the oldest swimming pools in Iceland, but pre-dated by the Secret Lagoon in Flúðir which dates back to 1891. It is 25 metres extensive and 10 metres wide, which means it was the most significant swimming pool in Iceland until finally 1936. It has professional several changes given that its design 100 years ago it was loaded with volcanic ash soon after the 2010 Eyjafjallajökull eruption, making it unusable for a short time period until volunteers cleared it out the next 12 months.

Concealed away in the mountains of south Iceland, it is preferred with Instagrammers for its legendary site but often ignored in favour of other attractions in the location such as the aforementioned waterfalls and the plane wreck, all of which are really shut.

From the Seljavallalaug motor vehicle park, it is just a 20-minute stroll to the swimming pool. The route is quite noticeable, served in part by following other people getting the very same route.

If it assists, here’s my Strava recording of our wander to the pool:

It is just less than two kilometres a person way and primarily on the flat.  If you are feeling doubtful on your route, notice that you will not see the swimming pool until finally you get to the every single stop of the walk.

The only a bit tough component of the wander is a rocky stream that you’ll have to have to cross. Based on the time of 12 months, this could be icy overfoot in Wintertime, or broader than usual in Summertime.

The pool is fed normally by geothermally heated h2o is in a magical location on private land but there is no admission rate. You enter the pool at your personal chance and there are no lifeguards.


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Just ahead of you reach the pool, you are going to see a tank and pipe on the still left which feeds geothermally heated water into the pool at its deepest issue.

The mountain forms one particular side of the swimming pool and the h2o is contained by the other three created sides. Although heated geothermally, the h2o is not that scorching like some of Iceland’s pools – all over 20° to 30°C or 68 to 86°F, that is all. We had appear armed with swimming items and towels with the intention of having a dip. The water looked complete of algae, though, and much less than clean (inspite of a handful of people today bathing in it), with small refreshing h2o flowing in and out of it, so in the conclusion we selected not to swim. We had a peek inside of the modifying rooms and they had been most effective averted completely… unquestionably NOT what you would connect with luxury! The luxurious below is in the special and picturesque landscape that surrounds the pool, and sadly not the facilities them selves. The pool and the shifting rooms are cleaned just when a 12 months and regretably not seemed following by what is possibly a minority of vacationers. If you do stop by, you should be positive to depart no trace – bring all your factors and any litter back with you so that the pool can be loved by other individuals.

Seljavallalaug swimming pool in South Iceland – everything you need to know

Scheduling a vacation to Iceland oneself? You can look at a movie from our vacation to Iceland below:

Disclosure: Our excursion to Iceland was also sponsored by Helly Hansen.

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