Katla Ice Cave

The super jeep rattles off the tarmac outside Vík, across black sand and old flood channels, until a grey, dirty wall of ice rises out of the desert. That's the glacier. It doesn't look like much from outside. Then you walk in, and the ceiling is blue and black and glassy, streaked with ash from eruptions centuries old.

The Katla Ice Cave is a natural ice cave in Kötlujökull, an outlet glacier of Mýrdalsjökull on the South Coast of Iceland. The ice cap sits on top of the Katla volcano, which is where the name comes from and why the ice looks the way it does: bright blue layers sandwiched between bands of black volcanic ash, often compared to dragon glass. Unlike the crystal caves of Vatnajökull, it can be visited all year round.

Tours that visit Katla Ice Cave

Katla Ice Cave & Super Jeep from Vík

3 hours · From Vik

4.4(302)

From 29.990 ISK

Vik to Katla Ice Cave Adventure: Explore Iceland's Frozen Wonders

3 hours · From Vík

4.4(275)

From 29.900 ISK

Katla Ice Cave & South Coast Tour from Reykjavík

12 hours · From Reykjavík

4.5(336)

From 35.990 ISK

South Coast & Katla Ice Cave From Reykjavik

10 hours · From Reykjavík

4.4(275)

From 35.500 ISK

South Coast & Katla Ice Cave

11 hours · From Reykjavík

4.8(237)

From 35.990 ISK

Private Vik to Katla Ice Cave Adventure

3 hours · From Vík

From 175.000 ISK

What to expect in the Katla Ice Cave

Tours start in Vík. A super jeep takes you about 30 minutes out towards the glacier over gravel and sand tracks no rental car should attempt. At the edge of the ice your guide hands out a helmet and crampons, and you walk about one to two kilometres over uneven, icy ground to reach the cave. It's not a hard walk, but it's not a pavement either.

Inside, you have time to look around and take photos while the guide explains how the cave formed and what the black layers are. The whole tour from Vík takes about three hours. There are also full-day tours from Reykjavík that combine the ice cave with the South Coast waterfalls and Reynisfjara, which make for a long day of 11 hours or more.

Ice caves are alive, in a way. Meltwater carves them out, and they change shape through the seasons, collapse and re-form. The cave you visit may not look like the photo you saw online, and operators move to a different cave when one becomes unsafe. That's normal, and it's why you only go in with a certified glacier guide.

Is the Katla Ice Cave open all year?

Yes. Katla ice cave tours run year-round, weather permitting, which makes this the go-to ice cave for summer visitors when the Vatnajökull caves are closed. In winter you get darker, moodier light and the chance of northern lights on the drive back to Vík; in summer you get long days and more flexible departure times. Storms can cancel any trip, so leave some slack in your plans.

Pro tip: bring your own proper hiking boots with ankle support, waterproof trousers and a warm layer. Crampons and helmets are provided, but boots and clothing are not, and there's nowhere to rent them at the glacier. Trainers and crampons are a miserable combination.

How to get to the Katla Ice Cave from Reykjavík

Vík is about 187 km from Reykjavík, around two and a half hours' drive on Route 1. Most people drive down, stop at Seljalandsfoss and Skógafoss on the way, and join a morning or afternoon departure from Vík. The alternative is a full-day tour from Reykjavík that handles all the driving. Minimum ages vary by operator but some take children from about six.

Katla ice cave tours from Vík, and South Coast day tours from Reykjavík that include the cave, are below.