Icelandic Lava Show

The first lava show in the world

Volcanoes created and shaped many of the landscapes we enjoy nowadays. Actually, it is believed that they’ve created more than 80% of our planet’s surface. Some scientist have even stated that volcanoes may have played a crucial role in the creation of life on Earth.

Yet, what is certain is that lava created picturesque shapes over a million years that today inspire us to travel overseas to explore and create art through photography.

This is especially true in the case of Iceland, which owes its existence to a large volcanic fissure in the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, where the Eurasian and American tectonic plates meet. Consequently, Iceland is home to some of the world’s most active volcanoes.

Interestingly, in 2010 a volcanic eruption nearby Fimmvörðuháls inspired one of the most creative and wild shows in the world. The distinctiveness of the lava fall aroused an idea in a young Icelandic couple: “This natural wonder will be soon over. But, what if everyone had the opportunity to have the same sensory loaded experience?”

And the rest is history! Júlíus and Ragnhildur created the first show in the world where everyone can safely experience real lava up close and personal. To this day, the show’s reviews have been overwhelmingly positive.

We wanted to know what makes the show so special, so we conducted an interview with this couple to get a complete insight.

The best of all? You can actually photograph the impressive lava and take back home a unique souvenir. As well as a mind-blowing experience!

Welcome couple! Iceland is without any doubts one of the most impressive countries in the world. But, in your opinion, what makes Iceland so special.

I think it has to do with a lot of things, but mostly because Iceland is simply different from many other places in the world. It‘s that rawness so to speak.

Iceland is like a living photo album. You can‘t drive 5 minutes without wanting to stop the car and just capture what you see. It‘s the colors, the breathtaking nature, the constantly changing weather, and of course the openness. I mean, there are hardly any trees in Iceland so you can always see in every direction. Unless of course there‘s a mountain blocking the view. But then again, it‘s probably so damn beautiful that you just want to photograph it anyways!

Then it‘s the fact that Iceland is the most active volcano island in the world that also happens to be located at the verge of the arctic circle in the middle of nowhere. This plays a major part in the whole makeup of the Icelandic landscape – and the people for that matter. The nick name that Iceland has been given as the land of fire and ice is no exaggeration. There are 130 volcano systems in Iceland. That’s the greatest concentration of volcanoes in the world. No wonder there is a volcano eruption in Iceland every 3-5 years on average. However, over half of all the volcanoes in Iceland are subglacial, meaning that they are located underneath a thick cap of glacier ice. That is a very unique and powerful combination that can, quite frankly, be very dangerous.

Indeed! Volcanoes are an important part of the Icelandic landscapes. Interestingly, in your show, people can come together to witness the true essence of flowing lava. Do you think that the scenery of your home country inspired you somehow to start this show? What motivated you to start such a distinctive show in the first place?

Oh absolutely. In fact, we tell that story at the beginning of our lava show.

So, a month before the famous eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in 2010, the one that spewed so much ash into the air that it brought air traffic all around the world to a stop, there was another smaller eruption nearby at Fimmvörðuháls. That was a very unique eruption in the sense that it was unusually safe comparatively and extremely viewer-friendly. People could literally walk right up to it. And that‘s exactly what my husband and I did. We were standing there, just a few feet away from the lava completely in awe of what we were experiencing.

First of all, it was the colors. There was this huge lava fall that was bright orange and in complete contrast to the blackened more cooled lava and the white snow below. It was the smell of the melting minerals and the indescribable crackling sound of the cooling lava. And then it was the heat. Wow! It was incredibly hot – so hot, in fact, that it was a natural barrier to getting too close to the lava. If you tried, it simply got too uncomfortable.

So initially we were thinking: “This is awesome for Iceland. Hopefully, it will continue for years and years.” But of course, two weeks later, it was over. But we were still spellbound by the amazing experience that we had had and felt that others should be able to have the same sensory loaded experience. So we started plotting, planning and figuring things out and that’s how it all started.

Nice, you guys actually made it! Today you are hosting the only show in the world where people can feel the heat from actual flowing lava in a safe environment. So I am really curious, what can people expect from the show? What are the key factors making the show so special?

I think we’ve managed to create a show that really hits home on many levels. It is educational, it is entertaining, and it is exciting. And we’ve also managed to make it personal which I think people really appreciate. It’s not set up as this Hollywood Grand Spectacle, but rather in a smaller, more intimate kind of way. As an example, we purposefully decided to only have 50 seats in the showroom, lined up in two U-shaped rows only a few feet away from the lava slide. We did this to ensure that every single person in the room would get the maximum experience out of the show. We also decided that there would be a live host at the show rather than simply having a voice-over or headphones. That really makes the whole experience so much more personal and interactive and we love that.

After a few welcoming words, there is a short video that explains why Iceland is such an active volcanic island with a special emphasis on the nearby volcanoes. Then, we tell a true family story of the dramatic events of the major volcano eruption of Katla volcano in 1918 that really puts the whole fire and ice combination into context. When the video is over, it’s time for the highlight of the show – the red-hot lava.

For a moment, the room is utterly dark and you become keenly aware of the loud rumbling from the furnace room in the back. Then, the room lights up with the neon bright colors of over 1100°C (2000°F) hot lava and momentarily, it’s almost like you’re witnessing a sunrise, it’s so bright. Then the heat hits you and no matter how prepared you think you are, you can’t prepare for the intense heat. As the lava flows further into the room and over the ice blocks in the lava slide, the ice instantly melts into steam and starts bubbling through the lava. As the lava starts slowing down due to the rapid cooling, it turns more orange and then a darker shade of orange until it pools at the end of the slide.

It’s still surprisingly hot and if you didn’t remove your outerwear before the lava flow, you feel compelled to start removing some of your layers. At this point, the host expertly starts playing with the lava (yes, you read that right!) in the most stunning way, creating pele’s hair (called witch hair in Icelandic), mixing ice with fire and attempting to create a miniature lava cave.

"It’s absolutely mesmerizing to witness!"

This is the point where the host starts encouraging the audience to ask questions, if they have any. This often turns into a really great Q&A session at the end. At last, when the doors to the showroom open, it is usually a group of people with bright eyes and flushed faces that walk out.

Amazing! We have seen wonderful photos of flowing lava posted in Instagram. Lava is visually stunning! Do you think that this is a show photographers can enjoy? Is it possible to photograph the flowing lava?

Oh absolutely! Photographers usually love the show and the fact that we allow cameras.

Actually, a pretty funny thing happened the other day. There was a photographer that came to the 13:30 lava show and had everything set up and ready for the perfect capture. But during the show she was so captivated by the lava that she totally forgot to take the shot! Imagine that!

Since she was staying in town, she came back at 17:00 and this time she was laser focused and got a few great captures. She was pretty excited but also laughed at herself for having been so mesmerized earlier that she totally forgot about her objective, saying that our show was simultaneously the paradise and hell for any photographer!

It actually can be quite challenging to get the perfect lava photo. This is primarily because of the great contrast between the bright orange lava and the dark showroom. Of course, you can focus on the lava itself and get some fantastic close-ups of molten lava but if you want to capture the showroom as well as the amazing details of the lava, then it becomes quite tricky.

One way to solve this could be to create a layered photo where you merge two photos, one where the focus is on the lava and the other where the focus is more on the surroundings. That would be an interesting project, I think. But that also takes some skill because it’s not like you have all the time in the world. First of all, at the point where the lava is the most visually stunning, the lava is not static but flowing and secondly, once the lava comes in contact with the much colder air and substances on the slide, it cools down pretty fast and immediately turns darker.

"Definitely not the easiest task but I’m betting that tons of photographers would be up for the challenge."

Icelandic Lava Show Show

The word “lava” can sound a bit scary to some of us as volcanic eruptions are unpredictable and dangerous events. How do you manage to offer this show in a safe environment?

That’s a good question and was, quite frankly, the biggest obstacle. After all we are melting real lava and pouring it over ice in a showroom full of people!

We had to go through A LOT of regulatory security standards which was both time consuming and quite costly. It most definitely slowed down the process of us opening the show sooner. It was a draining process and at times, we were quite defeated but we were never ready to give up.

But, eventually, we got through it and here we are, with a lava show that is really one of a kind.

"You can’t safely get this close to lava anywhere else in the world."

In addition, you have managed to offer really affordable prices. I think that the support from the Icelandic community had been key in this regard. Am I right?

Yes, we agree. Some people think we are a museum and then find the price to be a bit high but when they see that the show is an experience, they realize that it is in fact quite affordable. This is especially true if you put it into context with how unique the show is. We’re talking about real molten lava! That’s not something you can see every day.

In regards to the Icelandic startup community, we have been fortunate enough to have received some grants that really made a difference, especially the grant from Technology Development Fund. As a family startup with no corporate funds to back us up, this was especially vital in the beginning when we were still in the preparation and testing phase. To put it simply, we would not be an operational company today if it weren’t for those grants. So we are very thankful.

The show has been getting some amazing reviews! Why do you think that is?

YES! The reviews are incredible! I mean, before we started, we were convinced that we had something special going on here but these reviews even exceeded our wildest dreams! We are absolutely thrilled that people enjoy the show so much, especially since we really put everything on the line and poured our hearts and souls into this. The fact that people are willing to spend the extra time writing those reviews and telling others about our show really makes all the hard work worthwhile.

I think the overwhelming positive feedback has a lot to do with the way the show is setup. The whole thing about the intimacy and how we’ve made it very personal as mentioned earlier. And then of course it’s the fact that nothing really compares to the experience itself. The photos that people are posting of the show are great but they really don’t do the show justice. It’s simply something you have to experience to understand.

Vík is known to be one of the most special villages in Iceland. What an amazing site to host the show! Don‘t you think?

Yes definitely! Vík is a gorgeous little village, surrounded by volcanoes, glaciers, breathtaking nature and black sand beaches. Vík also has a very strong connection to the story that we tell in the show. So a lot of people gain a new sense of appreciation and understanding of the whole area and the challenges that the local people have had to face throughout the ages living in such close proximity to some of the most dramatic forces of mother nature.

Is this a show for everyone? What time of the year is the best to experience the show? Or is it being held all year round?

The show is open all year round every day of the week. So no matter when you come to Iceland, you will always have the opportunity to experience real lava up close and personal!

However, what most people don’t realize is that melting lava up to 2000°F (1100°C) is a delicate and hugely time consuming process. This means that there are fixed showtimes and people need to plan accordingly. Currently, we have two shows per day, at 1:30 pm and 5 pm but from May 1^st, we will add a morning show at 11 am and an evening show at 8 pm.

It’s also worth mentioning that shows often get sold out, especially if the weather is bad. So booking a ticket online is highly recommended!

Can you describe the show in a sentence?

An exhilarating and sensory loaded lava show that provides the rare chance to safely experience hot molten lava in close proximity. Unique and utterly unforgettable!