At Thrihnukagigur ("Three Peaks Crater") you can take an elevator inside a volcano's magma chamber. Cave explorer Dr. Árni B Stefánsson discovered the chamber in 1974 and fought to open it to visitors. The first tourists made the descent in 2012.
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Blue and yellow —
Patches of cobalt blue show where chunks of rock have crashed from the walls, while yellow colors have been created by sulfur-rich gases.
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To the mountains —
Hikers head to the ash-covered fields at Blafjoll, where Thrihnukagigur's magma chamber lies. The mountain range is only 20 kilometers southeast from Reykjavik.
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Tough hike —
Only the toughest hiking boots survive the terrain, which has been blackened by lumps of gnarled basalt.
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Elevator to the underworld —
A metal cage takes small groups of tourists down the neck of the crater into the magma chamber, which is taller than the Statue of Liberty.
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Iceland's elves —
The rocks and small underground caves marking the scarred landscape around Thrihnukagigur are associated with huldufólk, Iceland's "hidden people."
