Vök baths is a must visit nature bath in the east of Iceland

Vök baths near Urriðavatn lake are close to the town of Egilsstaðir. This nature bath is one of the latest of Iceland’s top-quality travel destinations. I am delighted to announce that readers of  Stuck in Iceland Travel Magazine get a 10% discount when they use the discount promo code when they book a slot on the Vök baths website. 

The delightful east of Iceland

I visited Vök baths just after I had made my trek to the magnificent Stuðlagil canyon last year, so the bar had been set pretty high. But I was impressed by the baths. I am so pleased to highlight a new destination in the East of Iceland. It is such a beautiful part of the country. The fact is that the east of Iceland is overlooked; I think it is due to its distance to Keflavik airport and Reykjavik. But it is well worth visiting.

Vök baths are a nature bath on top of a lake

Vök baths are unique since they are both right next to a lake and partly on top of it (!). In this case, it is lake Urriðavatn. Literally, that means ‘Sea trout lake.’ I didn’t see any sea trouts, but perhaps the owners of Vök baths can give you fishing rods to try your luck while you soak in the warm water and sip your drink. Anyway, people living around lake Urriðavatn had known about the geothermal springs underneath the lake for a long time. Certain parts of the lake never froze in winter. In Icelandic, the name for ice-free parts of the lake is known as ‘vök’. Hence, the name of the baths.

Great design

The baths are nicely designed. After you shower thoroughly, stark naked, of course, you put on your bathing suit and enter the warm water pool. You can make your way towards Urriðavatn lake, onto the floating pools of hot water. The floating pools are primarily constructed of wood, and their design is inspired by the shape of those ice-free patches, or a ‘vök’, as explained earlier.

Dip into Urriðavatn for cold discomfort

If you are so inclined, you can leave the cozy warm water of the baths and dip into the cold Urriðavatn lake. I, of course, did no such thing. What is the point of all that discomfort when you can relax in such a wonderful setting and coziness as you will find at Vök baths?

How to get to Vök baths

Drive from Egilsstaðir on highway no. 1. It is about an 8-minute drive.