This Has Got To Be The Best Spot For A Secret Pool Ever
There’s little known swimming pools, and then there’s this guy – this particular hidden bathing beauty is one of the trickiest pools in the world to get to, but once you do, oh boy is it worth it.
When you dive into Seljavallalaug, you’ll literally be plunging headfirst into Iceland’s best kept secret. Built in 1923 as a means to teach locals how to swim, the pool is one of the oldest of its kind in all of Iceland.
The trickiest and arguably best part of it all is the pool’s location – or rather, how exceedingly difficult it is to find Seljavallalaug in the surrounding mountainous region.
This level of solitude is pretty special, so it makes sense that locals and the few foreigners who have been there manage to keep it all under wraps – there’s no direct signs to get there, just a few tall tales and some how-to guides online. Tucked away in a scenic valley, visitors have to traverse lava sheets, two small river streams and a risky rocky path to get there – but it’s definitely worth it.
It’s located right next to the Eyjafjallajökull ice cap, from which the pool gets its hot spring water. Once the largest pool in the country, Seljavallalaug is 25 metres long and ten metres wide, and is routinely cleaned by a group of volunteers who aim to keep volcanic ash from the surrounding tectonically active landscape out of the pool year-round.
RELATED: THE 10 MOST INCREDIBLE POOLS OF ALL TIME. EVER.
(Lead image: Just Call Me Mo/Flickr)
Yet another reason why Iceland is the coolest – check out Qantas flights to Europe here.
