Tens of thousands of sightseers have already walked the steep and rugged path to the newly formed crater, gazing at the mesmerizing spectacle of hot lava that began erupting from the earth a week ago in the volcanic valley of Meradalir, near Reykjavík.
On Wednesday alone, when the site reopened for three days due to bad weather, more than 4,600 people came to admire the bubbling magma, just 40 kilometers from the Icelandic capital.
In total, nearly 23,000 hikers have already made the trip, according to the tourism services.
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The hike to the crater is at least 14 kilometers round trip and involves an ascent of 300 meters.
The walk takes about two hours from the nearest parking lot and the terrain is difficult.
Construction machinery, however, dug into the mountain during the three-day closure, to level the path and facilitate access for the public and rescue teams in the event of an emergency.
"
It's the longest walk I've ever done
," says Celine Paul, a British tourist.
“
My fiancé convinced me to come, telling me it would be a unique experience.
And it is
,” she adds, watching the lava erupt from the ground in a continuous roar.
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Visitors making the way on Wednesday were equipped with walking sticks, hiking boots and rain gear - a stark contrast to the shorts and flip-flops worn by the daring few who rushed to the scene after the opening of the crack in the floor of the valley, August 3.
At the end of the long crossing, on a hill overlooking the valley, shards of magma appear.
"
The hot rock gushing from the ground is really the first most impressive thing you see
," says James Maniscalco, a 31-year-old American tourist.
The pile of bright orange lava, gushing up to 70 meters in height and still falling in fusion, erects while solidifying large embankments of splashes forming a volcanic semi-cone.
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"We never tire"
A flow of fluid basalt at around 1200 degrees Celsius, the hottest lava Earth can produce, extends up to two kilometers from the jets and spills out of the valley bottom to spread southward.
“
We really see the force of nature
,” marvels Clémence Ernoult, a young Frenchwoman from Nantes.
"
It's something that we will surely only see once in our life
."
The gusts and showers do not diminish the wonder of the amazed curious, glued to the sides of the mountain.
The eruption has continued at a fairly steady pace in recent days, the Icelandic Meteorological Office said, adding that it could continue for a long time.
“
It could very easily last as long as the previous
one,” says volcanologist Thorvaldur Thórdarson.
Lava erupted from the nearby volcano near Mount Fagradalsfjall for six months last year, in Iceland's longest volcanic eruption in more than 50 years.
“
As long as the conduit that feeds the magma at depth remains open, we will have a continuous eruption
,” explains the specialist.
A land of ice and fire, Iceland has 32 volcanic systems currently considered active, the highest number in Europe.
The country experiences an eruption every five years on average.
A vast island near the Arctic Circle, Iceland straddles the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, a cleft in the ocean floor separating the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates.
The movement of these plates is partly responsible for the intense volcanic activity.
In video, “It was a life goal to see this”: an eruption in a volcanic fissure delights tourists in Iceland
