Iceland's newest hot spring destination, built on land with a much older story
2025
Opened
1st
Cascading waterfall lagoon in Iceland
Hvítá
River it sits on
Ylja
On-site restaurant, named for warmth
The Story
This is a genuinely new stop — Laugarás Lagoon only opened in late 2025, making it one of the newest geothermal destinations in the country, and it's already being billed as Iceland's first cascading waterfall lagoon: two tiers of pools connected by a small waterfall feature, built directly on the banks of the Hvítá river.
What makes it worth knowing about isn't ancient legend — there isn't one yet — but the deliberate design. Unlike the older, rustic hot pools scattered around the country, this one was built from scratch as a full geothermal resort: multiple temperature zones, saunas, a proper restaurant, and river views built into the layout intentionally, rather than a natural pool that people simply started visiting.
Fun Trivia
Things most visitors don't know
It sits almost exactly between Kerið and Geysir — the same short stretch of road you're already driving today, rather than a separate detour.
The village it's named for, Laugarás, has been known for geothermal warmth long before this lagoon existed — the area's greenhouses have used the region's natural heat for growing produce for decades, quietly, long before anyone built a resort around it.
Being this new means the "history" here is still being written. You're visiting close enough to its opening that the place genuinely doesn't have decades of stories attached yet — you're early to whatever this becomes.