Volcano magma chamber tour extended
14th July 2012
The unique opportunity for travellers to descend into the magma chamber of the extinct Thrihnukagigur has been extended by a month due to overwhelming demand
The Icelandic volcano, approximately 20 miles from Reykjavik, is the only place on earth where a magma chamber of its size is accessible and safe to explore. The chamber itself has a ground space equivalent to almost three full-sized basketball courts, and is 450ft tall, nearly as tall as three of New York's Statue of Liberty.
Thrihnukagigur is unusual in that the magma in the chamber has disappeared, believed to have solidified on the walls or disappeared back into the earth.
The tour, originally only running during June and July this summer, has now been extended to 20th August. Visitors descend 380ft down to the ground bottom of the magma chamber by an open cable lift.
The volcano is also being used for environmental and geological research. The hope is to eventually make the chamber accessible to the public.
A spokesperson for the project said that the tours were extended due to the enthusiastic response from people and the amount of interest that they had received, with “more people interested in doing the tour than we had expected”.
The tour cannot be extended for longer due to licenses and conditions, as the winter season closes in towards the end of August, bringing unpredictable weather with it and making the operation unsafe.
“We don't know about next summer,” he continued, “the tour this summer is about doing a research among travellers about the phenomenon and get comments and feedback for the big idea – which is about creating a ground tunnel into the chamber.”
For more information, visit www.insidethevolcano.com.
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