The active volcano Eldfell last time erupted in January 1973 and buried many houses on Heimaey in ash. This outbreak enlarged the island about one third.

The eruption took over five months and the inhabitants had to leave the island for that time. It took until 1975 until 85% of the population of Heimaey to move back to the island.

Eldfell (means “fire mountain”) is with a hight of about 200m easy to climb. The path is flattened and easy to walk. The whole route will take 2 hours. It is easy to reach through the town and leads along the harbor and through lava fields. At the end the path turns red. The color comes from the iron in the ash. On top you can still find hot spots and smoking holes. I recommend to not put a hand in a whole as you can easily burn your hand.

The view from the top is mesmerizing. If the weather allows you can see over the island Heimaey and even to Iceland itself. You will be able to see Ejafallajökull on the main island. Most people know this volcano due to an outbreak in 2010 which stopped all the flights in Europe for several days.