The volcano is a 30 minute drive from Reykjavík and one has to trek for 40 mins through a lava field to get there

The inside chamber of Thrihnukagigur, which has been dormant for around 4,000 years, was first accessed by scientists in 2010. Now it has been opened for the first time to ordinary travellers. This year, the volcano has been thrown open for six weeks, from June 15 to August 20.

Known as a ‘sleeping volcano’ because it could come back to life any moment, Thrihnukagigur is credited with helping to create the Atlantic island we call Iceland when it last erupted.  

A photo sequence of visitors being taken down a 120-m lava tube to the volcano’s centre through a cable lift

During the first ever scientific expedition into a volcanic magma chamber, climber Einar Stefánsson rappeled into Thrihnukagigur (means three peaks in Icelandic) in October, 2010, becoming the first man in the planet’s recorded history to be inside a magma chamber. Magma chambers supply the molten rock that bursts onto Earth’s surface during an eruption. Thrihnukagigur’s magma chamber is the only one on the planet that is currently safe to explore. 

Harness cables hanging from the volcano’s crater into the main lava tube	Visitors admiring stone walls oxidised by the lava

“Thrihnukagigur is unique. … It’s like somebody came and pulled the plug and all the magma ran down out of it," said volcanologist Haraldur Sigurdsson, who is currently studying earth’s natural plumbing system — how lava travels from earth’s core to its surface.

Getting inside the volcano

The volcano is a 30-minute drive from Icelandic capital Reykjavík. Visitors have to take a 40-minute hike across a lava field to reach the volcano, before descending 120 metres to the bottom of the crater in an open cable lift, which is much like the one used by window cleaners outside of  New York’s skyscrapers. 

Hitting rock bottom

A basket that holds 5-6 persons is connected to a crane that has been placed vertically over the crater opening. Massive cable wires move the basket up and down the bottle-shaped vault.

The 120-metre journey to the centre of the volcano takes about 10 minutes to complete.  (Compiled by Malav Parekh)