NewsNational

Actions

Watch: Hikers flock to admire bubbling lava of erupting volcano in Iceland

Iceland Volcano
Posted
and last updated

Tourists and locals appear to be flocking to watch an erupting volcano just outside of Iceland's capital of Reykjavik, which is near the site of another major eruption that spewed magma for months last year.

The site is around 25 miles from the capital city and is mostly accessible by hikers that are at a more advanced level and can trek up about 90 minutes of hilly terrain, according to France's RFI news agency. Nearly 2,000 people trekked to the site as it erupted on day one after a fissure appeared in the uninhabited area.

APTOPIX Iceland Volcano
Steam rises and lava flows from Fagradalsfjall volcano in Iceland on Wednesday Aug. 3, 2022, which is located 32 kilometers (20 miles) southwest of the capital of Reykjavik and close to the international Keflavik Airport. Authorities in Iceland say the volcano in the southwest of the country is erupting just eight months after its last eruption officially ended. (AP Photo/Marco Di Marco)

Last year over 400,000 tourists went to see an easier-to-access area around the Mount Fagradalsfjall volcano as it spewed magma for around six months.

The site of the ominous bubbling lava left some visitors to the area awestruck with one person becoming emotional as they arrived and saw the magnificent sight.

APTOPIX Iceland Volcano
People look at the lava flowing on Fagradalsfjall volcano in Iceland on Wednesday Aug. 3, 2022, which is located 32 kilometers (20 miles) southwest of the capital of Reykjavik and close to the international Keflavik Airport. Authorities in Iceland say the volcano in the southwest of the country is erupting just eight months after its last eruption officially ended. (AP Photo/Marco Di Marco)

"I've been waiting years and years to see lava, it's a life goal, and when I came over that hill, and we decided we're gonna come down and we're gonna go closer, and it's a risk and we know that," one visitor said of their initial arrival to the site with her partner.

She continued, "We're trekking down here and I was like, 'I have to stop, babe stop,'" she said. "I had to sit down and I had to have a little cry because it's so beautiful and so emotional," the BBC reported.

Iceland Volcano
People look at the lava flowing on Fagradalsfjall volcano in Iceland on Wednesday Aug. 3, 2022, which is located 32 kilometers (20 miles) southwest of the capital of Reykjavik and close to the international Keflavik Airport. Authorities in Iceland say the volcano in the southwest of the country is erupting just eight months after its last eruption officially ended. (AP Photo/Marco Di Marco)

The volcano is in an uninhabited area known as Meradalir. There are no residents in the area. The eruption is not far from Iceland's Keflavik International Airport.

The eruption comes some eight months after its last initial eruption officially ended, the Associated Press reported.