Photo spot in Landmannalaugar
The lower shoulder of Bláhnúkur
Half an hour of steady climbing for the view down over the valley, the lava field and the whole colour range of the mountains.
About The lower shoulder of Bláhnúkur
Get directionsBláhnúkur — the blue mountain — rises straight above the campsite, and the path up its shoulder gains height quickly. You do not need the summit: twenty to thirty minutes puts you on a slope where the valley, the black lava and the banded ridges beyond all sit in one frame, with your subjects on an obvious line of path.
The ground here is loose scoria, so the climb is more work than the distance suggests, and it is the one part of a Landmannalaugar session that needs proper footwear on both people and photographer. What it buys is the view nobody gets from the flats — and, on the way up, a series of stances at different heights so the shoot progresses rather than repeating.
Wind increases with every metre of height and can be serious on the shoulder; a long dress becomes a sail. Turn back early rather than late if the weather is moving in, and keep to the path — the slopes here erode easily and the reserve asks for it.
Best time to shoot
Late afternoon and evening, with the valley in warm light below
Tips
The summit isn't the point — twenty minutes up already gives the valley and the colour bands. Loose scoria: real shoes, both of you.
Other spots in Landmannalaugar
The flats by the huts
Level ground at the valley floor with the banded rhyolite mountains filling the horizon — the full highland amphitheatre with no climbing at all.
The edge of the Laugahraun lava field
Ten minutes' walk to a wall of jagged black obsidian-flecked lava, with the ochre slopes rising straight behind it.
The warm stream
The hot spring that gives the place its name — a shallow, steaming stream at the edge of the lava where a session traditionally ends.
Ready to book?
Our concierge team will hand-pick 2-3 photographers who know The lower shoulder of Bláhnúkur — free of charge.