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Rust, ochre and green hills at Landmannalaugar, with a path winding along a grey ridge
Marc Thunis / Unsplash

Laugavegur Ultra Marathon course map and aid stations

55 km across the Icelandic Highlands, from Landmannalaugar to the woods of Þórsmörk, in a single day.

July 17, 2027 Southern Highlands, Iceland

The Laugavegur Ultra runs the length of the Laugavegur hiking trail, from Landmannalaugar to Húsadalur in Þórsmörk. Hikers usually take four days over it. You get 9 hours 15 minutes, on sand, gravel, grass, snow, ice and through rivers. It has been run every year since 1997, and the Reykjavík Sports Association organizes it.

The trail is marked with wooden posts, but the organizer says you're most likely to lose it in fog near Hrafntinnusker or where heavy snow buries the markers. It also warns that phone reception between Emstrur and the finish is patchy. Download the course map before you leave Reykjavík: your phone's GPS shows where you are without a signal.

This is an unofficial guide: Goat Maps isn't affiliated with Laugavegur Ultra Marathon. Check the official site before you enter or race.

Laugavegur course map

Every course's aid stations on the Goat Maps topo map. Each course has a map of its own further down.

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Laugavegur courses

CourseDistanceClimbingStartTime limit
55 km55 km (34.2 mi)Sat, Jul 17, 9:00 AM9 h 15 min

Laugavegur 55 km

Landmannalaugar to Þórsmörk: a climb to the snow at Hrafntinnusker, then mostly downhill over sand and through rivers.

Distance
55 km (34.2 mi)
Start
Sat, Jul 17, 9:00 AM
Time limit
9 h 15 min

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The first 10 km to Hrafntinnusker are the hardest: mostly uphill, with just under 500 m of climbing, through geothermal ground and over snow and ice before the hut. The organizer tells first timers to give this stretch about a fifth of their target time and walk the steep parts. The next 12 km to Álftavatn is the highest part of the course, with snow in the gullies, a slippery geothermal patch near Háskerðingur and a steep drop to the lake.

From Álftavatn to Emstrur it's mostly flat, heavy sand, with several rivers to wade. At Bláfjallakvísl you cross holding a rope, with a rescue team standing by, and your midpoint bag waits on the far bank. Sandar, at 32 km, has only 300 ml of water a runner. After Emstrur a steep path, with a rope, takes you down to the bridge over the Fremri-Emstruá, and later you climb Kápan, the last hill. Þröngá, on its far side, is the deepest river, up to a meter, with a rope to hold. The last 4 km are woodland trail to the finish in Húsadalur.

You have to leave Álftavatn within 4 hours and Emstrur within 6 hours 30 minutes, counted from your own wave's start. Bring your own cup or bottle: the aid stations hand out no cups.

Hikers crossing a snowfield toward steaming vents in the hills on the Laugavegur trail
Krisztián Korhetz / Unsplash

Registration

Entry for 2027 opens at noon GMT on November 11, 2026, and closes at 00:00 GMT on November 18. You need an ITRA performance index of at least 370. The runners with the highest index get places first, split evenly between genders, and everyone else goes into a lottery. Results come out on November 25, and anyone who misses out goes on the waiting list and is refunded by December 3.

The fee is 62,250 ISK. It covers the shirt, timing, the aid stations and the showers at the finish, but not the race bus or the hot meal. You can get 75% back until December 30 and 50% until March 1, and transfer your place between March 1 and June 1.

If you're from a country with no ITRA-scored races, email the organizer: you'll need a trail race in the past 36 months that shows you can run 55 km in under 9 hours 15 minutes.

Getting to the start

A gravel track winding up a valley between bare, striped mountains at Landmannalaugar under white cloud
Karsten Winegeart / Unsplash

The organizer recommends the race bus. It leaves the ice rink in Laugardalur, Reykjavík, at 4:30 AM for the first three waves and 5:00 AM for the last two, stops at Hrauneyjar for breakfast, and reaches Landmannalaugar between about 8:15 and 9:00. Tickets are return only, booked separately from your entry, and the buses back leave Húsadalur from 5:30 PM until about 9:00 PM. There's nowhere indoors to change at the start, so come dressed to run.

Driving yourself isn't simple. Both ends are reached on gravel roads with rivers to ford, and the organizer says most rental companies won't let their cars on them. You also can't sleep in Þórsmörk the night before, since nothing runs from there to the start on race morning. Pick up your bib at Laugardalshöll on the Thursday or Friday before.

Family and friends at the finish

A braided glacial river in a wide gravel valley between green ridges at Þórsmörk, under low cloud
Lien Van Win / Unsplash

There's no crewing on the course. The rules ban outside help except in an emergency, and you can't run with anyone who isn't entered. Family and friends meet you in Húsadalur.

In 2026 supporters could take a Reykjavík Excursions bus from BSÍ at 7:00 AM, or a bus in from Hvolsvöllur if they'd rather not drive the road into Þórsmörk. That year a bus also ran across the Krossá every 30 minutes from noon to 3:00 PM, 3,000 ISK return. Volcano Huts runs Húsadalur and rents rooms if you want to stay the night.

Weather and what to carry

Two hikers with covered packs on a black sand track toward a cone-shaped mountain, on the Laugavegur trail
Luke Moore / Unsplash

The organizer puts the July average on the trail at 7 to 8°C (45 to 47°F), and the weather can change suddenly. Expect snow around Hrafntinnusker: how much varies from year to year. It barely gets dark in July.

You must carry a phone with 112 for emergencies, a whistle, a space blanket and a windproof jacket, and show them as you enter the start corral. Missing any of them costs you 60 minutes. Bring a cup or bottle as well. If the weather is bad, staff can make you wear or carry a long-sleeved top, long tights, gloves, a hat over your ears and a neck cover. Poles are allowed. Wool socks and low gaiters help with the rivers and the snow.

Laugavegur aid stations and GPS coordinates

For crews and spectators: each place on the map in decimal degrees, latitude first. Paste them into any map app or add them as waypoints in Goat Maps.

  • Landmannalaugar (start)

    600 m (1,969 ft)

    63.99068, -19.06131

  • Hrafntinnusker

    1,023 m (3,356 ft)

    63.93336, -19.16761

  • Álftavatn

    540 m (1,772 ft)

    63.85762, -19.22672

  • Bláfjallakvísl (river crossing and midpoint bags, no drinks)

    558 m (1,831 ft)

    63.82259, -19.21944

  • Sandar (water only)

    533 m (1,749 ft)

    63.80560, -19.27822

  • Emstrur

    476 m (1,562 ft)

    63.76613, -19.37368

  • Ljósá

    241 m (791 ft)

    63.71239, -19.48705

  • Þröngá

    235 m (771 ft)

    63.70303, -19.49627

  • Húsadalur, Þórsmörk (finish)

    200 m (656 ft)

    63.69107, -19.54012

Laugavegur FAQ

When is the Laugavegur Ultra 2027?

Saturday, July 17, 2027. The first wave starts in Landmannalaugar at 9:00 AM. The organizer has also set July 15 for 2028.

Do you need ITRA points to enter the Laugavegur Ultra?

You need an ITRA performance index of at least 370, not finisher points. The highest indexes get places first and the rest go into a lottery. Runners from countries with no ITRA-rated races can email the organizer with a comparable trail race from the past 36 months.

What are the Laugavegur cutoffs?

You must leave Álftavatn (22 km) within 4 hours and Emstrur (38 km) within 6 hours 30 minutes, and finish within 9 hours 15 minutes to be counted. The clock is your wave's start. Miss a cutoff and you're driven to Hvolsvöllur and on to Reykjavík; the race can't take you to the finish.

How many rivers do you cross on the Laugavegur?

Several. Grashagakvísl, before Álftavatn, has stepping stones. Between Álftavatn and Emstrur you wade streams and then Bláfjallakvísl, where there's a rope and a rescue team. Þröngá, near the end, is the deepest, 0.5 to 1 m, also with a rope. Fremri-Emstruá is crossed on a bridge.

Is there phone signal on the Laugavegur trail?

Not reliably. The organizer says reception between Emstrur and the finish is patchy, though a phone is required kit. Download the course map in Goat Maps before you go: your phone's GPS still shows where you are without a signal.

Can you drive to the start in Landmannalaugar?

Only in a car equipped for it. The roads to Landmannalaugar and Þórsmörk are gravel with river crossings, and most rental companies don't allow them. The organizer recommends the race bus from Reykjavík instead.

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Updated . An unofficial guide, from the organizer's published information. Coordinates from the organizer's course and OpenStreetMap contributors. Photos from Unsplash. Organize a race? We help with course files.