Nykurinn of Kerid Crater

Kerid Crater, Grimsnes, South Iceland

Kerid's startlingly turquoise crater lake is said to be home to a nykur — a water-kelpie in the shape of a grey horse with backwards hooves — connected by a hidden tunnel to a second crater lake several kilometres away.

Kerid is a volcanic crater roughly 3,000 years old, its steep red walls of scoria enclosing a small, startlingly turquoise lake. Local tradition holds that the lake is home to a nykur — a water-kelpie that appears as a grey horse with hooves turned backwards, luring riders onto its back before bolting for the water and drowning them in the depths. Older still is the belief that Kerid is connected by a hidden tunnel to Burfell, a hill several kilometres away with its own crater lake: when the water level at one rises, tradition says, it falls at the other, as though something moves between them underground. A separate strand of local folklore tells of a wealthy, secretive farmer said to have sunk his fortune into Kerid's depths rather than see it inherited, trusting the crater itself — or what lives in it — to keep the secret. Kerid is privately owned rather than state-run, and visitors pay a small admission fee to walk its rim — a rare arrangement for an Icelandic natural site, and one that keeps the crater quieter than its position on the Golden Circle route might suggest.

Folklore Disclaimer: These accounts are drawn from local tradition, oral history, and community memory. They are not presented as factual claims.

Location accuracy: Approximate. Coordinates indicate the general area.