The Environmental Agency will implement a booking system for parking in Landmannalaugar for the summer of 2024.  It will be necessary to book parking spaces in advance and pay a service fee.

The system will be used from June 20th to September 15th, every day of the week. During this period, all visitors planning to come to Landmannalaugar on their own in a private or rental car, between 8 am and 3 pm, will need to book a parking space in advance. 

The Agency aims to open for bookings around mid-March. More detailed information about the arrangement will be announced closer to the date.

The number of daily reservations available for private cars will be entirely determined by the number of parking spaces in the area. There is a special parking area for buses, so buses and other tour operators do not need to book in advance this summer. Tour operators arriving between 8-15 will also be required to pay a service fee.

This only applies to parking spaces at Landmannalaugar itself and therefore has no impact on traffic in other areas within the Fjallabak Nature Reserve.

Service fee

The service fee is based on the Environmental Agency's price list, but a 40% discount is offered for this year. The fee for 2024 will be as follows:

Mitigation measures necessary to reduce congestion

These measurements are being implemented to reduce traffic congestion and chaos that occurs daily on the access road and parking areas in Landmannalaugar during the summer.

On average, over 300 cars arrived at Landmannalaugar per day in the summer of 2023.

The high volume of traffic means that parking spaces are usually full before noon most days and remain so throughout the day. As a result, visitors are forced to park on the shoulders and off-road. Cars are parked in almost every possible spot along the road leading to Landmannalaugar, causing congestion and traffic knots while also creating danger on the narrow road.

Additionally, every day, drivers are forced to drive across the two creeks next to Landmannalaugar, due to lack of available parking, in ill-equipped vehicles and encounter difficulties.

Therefore, the primary necessity of this action is to reduce the pressure on the fragile environment of Landmannalaugar. Without any actions, the problem can be expected to grow further in the coming years, as there is a forecast of a 10-15% annual increase in the number of tourists visiting Iceland.

Improved visitor experience

It is also the Agency's hope that these measures will enhance the experience of those visiting this unique destination, as well as increase their satisfaction and predictability when visiting the Fjallabak nature reserve. Visitors should not have to waste valuable time on their journey stuck in a traffic jam in Landmannalaugar, or finding a vacant spot to park their car.

Landmannalaugar is a magnificent area within the Fjallabak Nature Reserve, which was declared a protected area in 1979. The main characteristics of the area are its diverse landscapes and landforms, significant variability in geological features and geothermal phenomena, unique but fragile ecosystems, wilderness, tranquility, and splendor of colors. Landmannalaugar has been increasingly popular among tourists, but surveys have shown that visitor satisfaction has declined in recent years

This will also create more tranquility in Landmannalaugar, as it will reduce noise pollution and dust formation in the area during the busiest times of the day.

More information on the Fjallabak Nature Reserve