Voyay walking tour

Ruins Beneath Öskjuhlíð’s Forest

Trace wartime defenses through lava, woodland, and geothermal reinvention

Reykjavik, Iceland
10 stops
305 min
16 km
History

Free in the Voyay app

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Öskjuhlíð looks like a peaceful urban forest, but its roots conceal one of Reykjavík’s most layered historical landscapes. Ancient lava and glacial ice shaped the hill first; Allied forces then exploited its elevation to defend a new military airfield, camps, transport routes, and fuel infrastructure. The route leads from Perlan’s geothermal tanks into woodland where concrete firing positions, shallow trenches, and utility foundations survive among moss and trees. At the hill’s edge, working airport runways make the strategic logic clear, while Bragginn í Nauthólsvík shows how temporary military architecture entered Reykjavík’s postwar civilian life. The journey also reaches the Commonwealth graves at Fossvogur, where individual names give the occupation’s machinery a human dimension. On the return, glacial markings and deliberately planted woodland reveal how both natural forces and civic ambition transformed the terrain after its military role faded. Allow roughly 3.5 to 4.5 hours for this moderate 6.5- to 7.5-kilometre circuit. It is ideal for curious walkers, military-history enthusiasts, geology fans, and anyone who enjoys finding major stories in easily overlooked ruins rather than following a conventional nature hike or city panorama.

Try the first stop

Free sample · Stop 1

Bragginn í Nauthólsvík

A restored wartime hut reveals how military leftovers entered Reykjavík’s civilian life.

This restored braggi makes the occupation’s architecture instantly recognizable. Allied forces could erect these corrugated huts quickly, but their story continued long after the war as Reykjavík adapted them for housing, workshops, storage, and community life. Study the curved shell outside and consider why this modest survivor became valued heritage.

The route

10 stops, in order.

1
Stop 1 · Free sample
Bragginn í Nauthólsvík
A restored wartime hut reveals how military leftovers entered Reykjavík’s civilian life.
Stop 2
Reykjavík Airport Edge
Working runways reveal why this wooded hill became strategically vital during wartime.
3
Stop 3
Western Machine-Gun Position
A compact firing position guarded the wartime airfield from Öskjuhlíð’s western slope.
4
Stop 4
Northwestern Firing Position
An overgrown concrete emplacement preserves Öskjuhlíð’s most tangible occupation-era defensive architecture.
5
Stop 5
Glacial Marks and Hvalbök
Ancient ice polished volcanic bedrock long before soldiers fortified this strategic hill.
6
Stop 6
Perlan’s Geothermal Tanks
Six monumental water tanks transformed strategic high ground into Reykjavík’s geothermal landmark.
7
Stop 7
Fossvogur War Graves
Ordered Commonwealth graves restore individual names to Iceland’s dangerous North Atlantic war.
8
Stop 8
Reykjavík Grey Basalt
Exposed grey basalt reveals the volcanic foundation beneath Reykjavík’s wartime defenses.
9
Stop 9
Western Wartime Trenches
Shallow woodland hollows preserve a defensive network softened by roots and time.
10
Stop 10
Southern Fuel Foundations
Concrete foundations expose the logistical machinery that kept wartime Reykjavík operating.