Buri in Leitahraun-lava fieldOne of earth's most spectacular lava tube caves
The lava tube cave known as Buri, is situated in Leitahraun-lava field on Reykjanes peninsula. The eruption that formed the Leitahraun-lava field was massive and therefore the lava tube cave Buri is massive. The ancient pharaohs of the Egyptian dynasty where having thousands of labors working on the massive pyramid of Keops, when the eruption started 5000 years ago, not to mention that Iceland was still to be habited for 4000 years. Buri is probably the most prized of all the Icelandic lava tube caves. Bjorn Hroarsson vulcanospeleologist discovered Buri the 7th of may 2005 and that find was considered one of the more remarkable discoveries in Speleology in Iceland for the last 1000 years. Búri is over one kilometer long and has a great width but is difficult to trek. Buri has some spectacular lava formations and it’s size is unrivaled in Iceland, for it runs about 10 meters in height and 10 meters wide in the largest chambers. The last 400 meters of the cave are said to be unrivaled by other similar caves in the world, at the innermost section of the cave, there is a 17 meter high vertical pit made from a lava fall, and is known to be the deepest lava pit on earth. The route to Buri lava tube cave isn’t the easiest one. 50 minute drive from Reykjavik is followed by a hour walk to the cave’s entrance. The entrance is narrow, but when inside you stand in a great chamber filled with ice sculptures and formations of all sizes. Those ice formations are most spectacular in the late winter, but Extreme Iceland ltd. does tours to the Buri lava tube cave at any season of the year. Going through the chamber of ice and up the ice slope in the back of the chamber isn’t a trek for everybody, especially not for those that have any kind of health issues. After the ice slope has been climbed, follows a wide and rocky tunnel, the rocky part of the tunnel is almost 700 meters long, but after that the floor is almost completely flat and all the way to the lava pit. There are probably few man made structures that can rival the beauty of Buri lava cave visually, so travelers are given enough time to zip in this extraordinary beauty deep inside the Icelandic landscape, after that we trek back to the clean and crisp air of the Icelandic wilderness. From Reykjavik, we drive about an hour south, the walk to the cave takes about an hour and the cave tour itself takes about 6 hours. The tour altogether takes close to 10 hours and is a challenge only for those who are physically well and have good stamina, but on the other hand, a trip to Buri lava tube cave is an adventure that will late be forgotten. Day Tour to Buri lava tubeWe pick you up at your hotel in Reykjavik at around 10:00. From there we drive east for about 50 minutes and drive as close to the cave as possible. Then we walk for about an hour and get prepared at Buri's opening. It takes us about 3 hours to get to the end of Buri and in the end (at the pit) we eat our lunch and get prepared for the way back. When we get out, we walk back to the car and drive home, to your hotel. Duration: about 7 - 10 hours.
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