The third day of my recent hiking tour in the Landmannahellir and Landmannalaugar in the Fjallabak nature reserve was unforgettable. Previously we had hiked up to Mt. Löðmundur and hiked around Mt. Skalli. On our third and final hiking day, we visited the stunningly beautiful natural wonders of Rauðufossar and Rauðauga. Rauðufossar translates to Red Waterfalls in English. Rauðauga translates to Red Eye.
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Easy hike to Rauðauga and Rauðufossar
It is not a difficult hiking route. The hike up Rauðauga is just over 4 kilometers, and the elevation gain is around 250 meters. Our bus drove for an hour to our drop-off point at a parking lot at Landmannaleið; we were soon treated to a beautiful waterfall called Rauðafoss running down in a rust-colored canyon. The rust is caused by the oxidisation of iron in the rocks, and the resulting visual effect is impressive. We continued up the river, Rauðufosskvísl, and our ultimate goal was the river’s amazing source at Rauðauga.
As we progressed upriver, there was constantly more snow around the hiking trail. This is the leftover of an unusually snow-heavy winter. However, the hiking trail was mostly clear of snow, which relief. It meant I could ditch my heavy hiking boots for trail running sneakers. They were quite adequate for this pleasant hike.
The interaction between the white snow and the rust-colored riverbed was visually pleasing to say the least. I did my best to capture this beauty with my iPhone, and I hope I didn’t botch it too badly.
Serious Lord of the Rings vibes
But the real beauty was at the source of Rauðukvísl. My photos don’t do it justice and I am not great at communicating how beautiful all of this is. First, you come to this red-colored waterfall which looks like it has been designed for a Lord of the Rings movie. Just above it, there is the Rauðaauga itself. This crystal clear pool of icy water is the source for the Rauðukvísl river and it is something out of this world. The only analogy I have is the Mirror of Galadriel in Lord of the Rings.
Solitary appreciation of beauty
We sat down, had refreshments, and then spent an hour or two photographing these natural wonders. It was like everybody wanted to ensure that they would never forget the unique beauty of this place before we went back the way we came. It was certainly how I felt, I patiently waited for the hiking group to disappear so I could take it all in by myself, and get pictures without people in them. I can still close my eyes and see the crystal clear deep pond with water streaming gently from into the red riverbed.
