The Lava Falls Adventure Tour at Raufarhólshellir
The standard tour ends where the lighting ends. This one carries on: head torches, no footbridge, 1.3 kilometres over collapsed roof material to the three lava falls at the far end of the tube, in a group of no more than eight. It runs 3 to 4 hours, costs $219.39 and holds 4.9 from 41 reviews, the highest rating of any tour into this cave. It also turns people away at the door for wearing the wrong boots, which is the part worth reading before you book.
About This Tour
Underground time depends on the group; some parties have spent close to five hours inside
Per person. The operator lists the same tour at 27,900 ISK on its own site
The footbridge ends early; from there you are on raw floor and boulders
Private group format, and it needs at least 4 bookings to run
Mandatory. Guides refuse trainers at the door, and the refusal is not negotiable
Not suitable during pregnancy, with heart conditions, mobility limits or claustrophobia
Check Lava Falls Dates
Live availability for the 3-hour adventure departure. It runs once or twice a day rather than hourly, and it needs four people on the sheet, so a lone booking on a quiet midweek date can be cancelled back to you.
What Makes This Different From the Standard Hour
The lighting stops and the cave keeps going
Raufarhólshellir runs 1,360 meters. The standard tour walks a lit footbridge through the front of it and turns around inside an hour, which is why the recurring line in reviews of that tour is that it feels short. The Lava Falls tour uses the same entrance and then keeps walking. If you have not settled on a ticket yet, the four Raufarhólshellir lava tunnel tour options are compared on the homepage.
Beyond the built section there is no bridge, no handrail and no floodlighting. Your headlamp is the light. The floor is what the roof left when it fell in: blocks the size of suitcases, some of them loose, with a scramble up and over rather than a path around.
1.3 kilometres, three lava falls, one crawl
The tour covers more than 1.3 kilometres inside the tube and finishes at the source end, where the passage divides and the lava falls sit. These are frozen cascades of rock, formed where the flow dropped from one level to another and then drained away. Few caves anywhere have them.
Groups that move well get all three, and there is a low dead-end side passage that means crawling if you want the top of it. One reviewer took his 13-year-old through the lot and reported the crawl was easy for the kid and a workout for him.
Eight people, and four to make it run
The group cap is eight, which on a route where everyone needs a hand up the same boulder is the difference between a tour and a queue. The flip side is the minimum: four bookings, or the departure comes off the schedule.
Book early in your trip if you can. If the tour is cancelled for numbers you get your money back, but you also need a free morning left to try again.
Inside the Cave, Filmed by the Operator
The Lava Tunnel's own footage of the caving route beyond the walkway.
What You Walk Through
Colour that the floodlights never reach
Iron in the basalt gives the deep rust and red, and other minerals put green and purple-grey into the walls. On the lit section you see this under warm floodlights. Past them you see it in a moving circle of white light, one patch at a time, which is a different experience of the same rock.
What the head torch finds along the way:
- Ledges along both walls, marking each level where the draining lava paused
- Ripples and ropes in the floor, frozen mid-flow 5,200 years ago
- Collapse piles where the roof has come down since, some of them recent enough to have sharp edges
- Ice in the passage through winter, which is why crampons are handed out from about October
- The lava falls themselves, in the last section, where the tube splits into three branches
It is cold, wet and 3 to 4°C all year
The cave holds 3 to 4°C in July and in January. On this tour you are moving for most of three hours, so nobody gets cold standing still, but the roof drips everywhere and the rock is wet where you put your hands.
A waterproof shell over a warm mid layer works. Gloves matter more here than on the standard tour, because you are using your hands on cold, sharp basalt.
What the Ticket Covers
Included
A guide with caving training, in English, plus a helmet and headlamp fitted at the service building. Crampons come with it through the winter months. There is a check-in desk, bathrooms and somewhere to leave a bag in the building at the entrance.
Not included: transport to the cave, food and drink, and gratuities. You get yourself to Þrengsli, on the same Route 39 turn-off the standard tours use.
What you have to bring
Hiking boots with ankle support are a condition of joining, not a suggestion. Reviewers keep repeating it because guides enforce it, and someone turned away also puts the group at risk of dropping under four people.
Bring a waterproof jacket, warm layers, gloves and a hat in winter. Eating, smoking and vaping are not allowed inside the cave, so eat before you check in.
How the Day Runs
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15 min before
Check in at the service building
Reception at Raufarhólshellir, off Route 39 in Þrengsli. Bathrooms here, and this is where boots get looked at.
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0:00
Gear and safety briefing
Helmet, headlamp and, in winter, crampons. The guide explains the route, the hand signals and what to do if a rock moves under you.
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0:15
Down the entrance slope
The same rubble slope everyone uses, under the three collapsed skylights, with daylight behind you for the last time.
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0:30
Past the end of the walkway
The footbridge finishes and the group moves onto raw floor. From here the pace is set by the boulders rather than the clock.
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1:30
The deep section
Over and around collapse material, with stops for the ledges, the flow ripples and the colour in the walls. The optional low crawl branches off here.
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2:15
The lava falls
The far end, where the tube divides into three and the frozen falls sit. This is the turnaround point and the reason for the ticket.
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3:00
Back at the entrance
Out the way you came in, boots muddier, usually between three and four hours after check-in.
Things Worth Knowing First
No caving experience needed, real fitness is
The operator asks for good balance and general fitness rather than technique, and the guide handles the route-finding. What the tour actually demands is three hours of uneven ground in the dark, with your hands involved.
The honest test: if a rough three-hour hike with some scrambling sounds fine, this is fine. If it sounds like a lot, book the standard hour instead and spend the difference on something else.
Claustrophobia, and how big the cave really is
Most of the tube is 10 to 30 meters wide, which is why claustrophobic visitors get through the standard tour without trouble. This tour still lists claustrophobia as a reason not to book, because of the low sections near the end and the fact that you are a long way from daylight for a long time.
The optional crawl is genuinely tight. It is optional, and skipping it costs you nothing.
Where the Tour Meets
The service building at Raufarhólshellir, off Route 39 in Þrengsli, 35 km southeast of Reykjavík.
Coordinates N63°56.407 W021°23.742. Free parking at the reception building, and the gate stays locked between departures.
Who Should Book It, and Who Should Not
Great for
Anyone who read that the standard tour is an hour and thought that sounds short. Anyone who has done a show cave and wants the version without a handrail. Families with a fit teenager, since the minimum age is 12.
If that is not you, the shorter walk on the lit footbridge is the better ticket.
- Not suitable during pregnancy
- Not suitable with mobility impairments or a heart condition
- Not recommended if you have real claustrophobia
- Under 12s cannot join, and there is no exception for a confident 10-year-old
- Trainers, town boots and anything without ankle support will be refused at the desk
Questions Before You Book
How far into the cave does the Lava Falls tour go?
Over 1.3 kilometres inside the tube, which takes you to the source end where the passage divides into three branches and the lava falls sit. The standard tour covers the lit front section only and turns back inside an hour. Raufarhólshellir is 1,360 meters end to end, so this tour effectively walks the whole of it and back.
Do I really need hiking boots with ankle support?
Yes, and it is enforced at check-in. The floor past the walkway is loose collapse material and the guides refuse trainers rather than risk a turned ankle an hour from the entrance. Reviewers mention it repeatedly, one in capital letters. If you are travelling light, rent or buy a pair in Reykjavík before you drive out.
How much does the Lava Falls Adventure tour cost?
$219.39 per person with free cancellation up to 24 hours before departure. The operator lists the same tour at 27,900 ISK on its own site, about $222 at 125 ISK to the dollar in July 2026. The standard hour-long tours run $67.07 to $151.19 depending on how you get there.
What happens if fewer than four people book?
The departure does not run. Four is the minimum for this tour, and the operator cancels and refunds rather than take two people through a three-hour caving route. Put it early in your trip so a cancellation still leaves you a second date to try.
Is it suitable for children?
From 12 years old, and fitness matters more than age. One reviewer took a 13-year-old through all three lava falls plus the low crawl and reported the boy handled it better than the adult. Under 12s are welcome on the standard tour, where the minimum age is 3 at the cave.
Is there a toilet, and can I leave my bag?
Both are in the service building at the entrance, where you check in. Eating, smoking and vaping are not allowed inside the cave, so have whatever you need before you go down.
What People Said After the Adventure Tour
It was my second time in Raufarholshellir, this time with my 13 year old son, and he loved it. We did the trip to all three lava falls and extra dead end, which is so low you have to crawl to get to the top, not a challenge for a kid, but a bit of workout for me. The guide, Anna was brilliant, she was quick, but had a lot of stops, and every question was answered and explained with great professionalism.
We absolutely enjoyed every second of our Lava Falls Adventure Tour. We spent nearly 5 hours inside the tunnel, and there was not once a second which was not worth to do this tour. But guys, please don't book this tour when you are not used to hike with some height meters. It's a challenging tour and please also take the fact seriously that you have to wear hiking boots with ankle support.
We did the standard tour two years ago and always wondered what was past the lights. Six of us went in and the guide let us take our time at the falls with the torches off. Wear proper boots, take gloves, and eat first.
The first two quotes are from the GetYourGuide listing for this tour, reproduced as written.