This secluded little natural hot pot is on the south shore of Hvalfjordur, just down the road from Hvitanes and the Glymur waterfall. Totally worth stopping — the pot is heated from a nearby natural spring with a black PVC pipe leading to the concrete and stone circle. The temperature is controlled simply by removing or lowering the tube to get the right amount of piping hot (almost boiling) water into the pot.

It’s not to hard to find — turn off Route 47 towards Hvammsvik, turn right at the first farmhouse, and then north along the beach on a rough gravel road. The road devolves into a faint path through the grass, but as you near the end of the peninsula, the little hot pot with a bench comes into view. We almost turned back, the ‘roads’ looked like private drives, but apparently this is the way.

The water comes out of the ground very, very hot, as Mark discovered by dipping his hand in, expecting it to be a normal hot-tub temperature. Instead, he scalded himself a bit (and ran down to the fjord to dunk his hand in cold water). By the time the trickle of water dribbles into the hot pot, it is a much more comfortable temperature (38°-40°C). Want it warmer? Put the pipe on a lower stone so more water flows in. Cooler? Remove or raise the pipe. And sit as close to it as you want.

This is not a maintained site, by any means. Obviously someone built it, but it’s not monitored or cleaned, so be careful and test the water before climbing in, it might be very hot. The rocks are covered on the outside in minerals salts and inside everything has an even coverage of slimy green algae, which can be a bit off-putting.  But it is definitely secluded enough that you could skinny dip, if you wanted to. There’s a bench to store your stuff and a plastic bin to sluice off sand and dirt before you get dressed.

Nearby are the faint remains of the American and British naval installations at Hvitanes, and the hiking path to Glymur.