Vök Baths
Not my picture but an aerial view I found on Google images, showing the baths from above
Just a few minutes out of the town of Egilsstaðir in East Iceland, are the Vök Baths; a geothermal spa with a difference. When we had been researching our trip to the East coast of Iceland we found that although Iceland is famous for its geothermal activity, East Iceland is normally not associated with geothermal heat and is considered a cold spot. There are very few hot springs and geothermal pools in this area. This makes Vök Baths an even more unique attraction in this region.
Vök Baths is located on the bank of Urriðavatn lake, just outside Egilsstaðir, and what makes it unusual is that it contains Iceland’s only floating geothermal pools.
Walking out towards the last of the floating pools
Throughout the centuries, people living around Lake Urriðavatn noticed certain spots on the lake that curiously did not freeze during winter. The Icelandic name given to these ice-free patches is “Vök”.
The warm water flowing from the ground at Urriðavatn lake is so pure that it is the only geothermal water in Iceland certified as drinkable. The owners of Vök have capitalised on this and you can taste the water at the complimentary tea bar.
We enjoyed our time at Vök Baths so much that we went back again a couple of days later for another visit. It’s a perfect way to relax after a day of hiking and exploring. We were lucky enough to be staying very close to the baths, so were able to factor in a soothing soak after a full day of activity very easily, being just a few minutes away.
The view looking back at the buildings, bistro to the left with the pool bar and dressing rooms
I think one of the nicest things about Vök is that you can be enjoying the heat of any one of the floating pools, then for a quick cool-off, you can just climb out and jump out into the cold lake. Having got addicted to the Icelandic way of going from hot to cold, back to hot again, I was constantly in and out of the lake, swimming round whichever pool Matthew was in and enjoying the cold water, before using one of the many ladders back up onto the floating structure and then enjoying the incredible tingling sensation on my skin as I would sink blissfully back into the hot water.
A few pictures that Matthew took from the floating pool of me in the lake
As with so many other geothermal spas, there is a poolside bar with beers, wines, soft drinks and slushies available. The pool bar is next to the bistro and a couple of pools on the shore of the lake which are around 38C and 38.5C, along with a hot steambath and a cold mist area, then walking over a wooden pontoon type bridge you reach the two floating infinity pools, both an elongated hexagonal shape, which are respectively 39-40C and 41C. I have to admit, we spent most of our time in the furthest, hottest pool, enjoying the views of the lake and low mountains beyond.
The geothermally heated infinity pools feel almost at one with the lake and landscape beyond
Despite being so modern and almost geometric in design, the building does seem to fit with its surroundings – maybe it’s the way the non-uniform hexagonal pools remind me of the hexagonal basalt columns that occur naturally in so many places in Iceland, with the long and low buildings themselves almost disappearing into the surrounding landscape, but whatever the reason, it works very well indeed.
The perfect end to a busy day
The time we spent here was relaxed, serene and blissfully pampering. The perfect end to a busy day.
