Around the Glaciers  Tour # E15

Magic Mountains in the South

This tour starts at the farm Skálakot, which is situated beneath the Eyjafjall Mountain Range. From Skálakot we ride first to the Fljótshlíd area, made famous in The Saga of Burning Njal where we have a good view over the area Thorsmörk and the glaciers Myrdalsjökull and Eyjafjallajökull. From Fljótshlíd we ride further north, passing north of the glaciers where we reach Maelifellssandur, a black "tölt-friendly" lava sand.
At Maelifellssandur you have the mountains on your left and the glaciers on your right. We will ride on the green meadows that go from the mountains towards the sea. We continu­e up to the mountain, and on our way we pass steep waterfalls on the mountain's edges. On our way around the glaciers, we reach the beach east of the small village Vík, where we pass the southernmost tip of Iceland, Dyrholey. We then reach Skogar before completing the circle back at Skalakot Farm.

Itinerary
 

Day 1: Arrival Tour members arrive at Keflavik Airport, Iceland. You take the bus from Keflavik to Reykjavik (BSÍ). Our representatives will greet you at 17.30 - 18.00 and arrange further transportation to the farm Vellir near Hveragerdi. In Hveragerdi the tour members will be lodged in guesthouses. The first evening we will dine together, and we will provide details about the next few days.

Day 2: Hveragerði - Skálakot - Ásólfsskálaheiði We go bus to the farm Skálakot, where the horses are witing. After a good lunch we have a short riding lesson to get to know the horses. Then we set off on our first day, and ride towards the highlands. Up in the higlands Ásólfsskálaheiði we can have a look at the canyon Holtsárgljúfur. We continue further in to the highlands and have a great view over the glacier Eyjafjallajökull. We leave the horses on Ásólfsskálaheiði and return to Skálakot to have dinner and spend the night. 15 km, 3.5 hours

Day 3: Ásólfsskálaheiði - Dalshverfi After having breakfast we go back to the horses. We ride along old riding trails, to the west. We still have a view over the glacier, and in the south we can see the Atlantic ocean and the Westman Islands. In the end of the day we reach the farm Dal, a well-known historic place from the old Njál Saga. We let the horses spend the night here, but we return to Skálakot again for spending the night. 20 km, 7-8 hours

Day 4: The Westman Islands Today we spend the whole day at the Westman Islands. In the morning we go by bus to the little airport Bakki in Landeyjar, and go for a 7 minute flight out to the islands. During the day we go for a sightseeing trip with bus, and we also go for a boat trip that takes us all around the islands. Then we take a walk in the village on the largest of the islands, Heimaey, and also visit the local museum. In the evening we go back to Skálakot where a nice dinner is waiting, and we also spend this night in Skálakot. 8-10 hours

Day 5: Dalshverfi - Hvolsvöllur The horses are waiting for us in Dal, where we left them on day 3. Today the ride goes to the old bridge over the river Markarfljót. During the day we visit some of the famous places from the Njál Saga: Gunnarshólmi, Stóra-Dímon and Hlíðarendi, where one of the main characters of the Njál saga, Gunnar, used to live. We continue our ride along the mountains surrounding Hlíðarendi, and eventually reach todays goal Hvolsvellir where we also spend the night. In the evening we visit an interesting museum that tells us about the Njál Saga. 30 km, 7-8 hours

Day 6: Hvolsvellir - Landeyjar Today we ride over the endless grass fields in the area Landeyjar. The trail is very beautiful and we can tölt fast on the soft grass. We stop at Bergþórshvóll where the wise Njál himself lived. The whole day we will have a magnificent view over the Atlantic ocean and the Westman Islands ahead of us, and behind us are the mountains around Fljótshlíð and the glacier Eyjafjallajökull. We go by bus to Skálakot in the afternoon to spend the night, but on our way there we stop to take a bath in a hot pool. 30 km, 7 hours

Day 7: Landeyjar - Skálakot This last day will bring us back to our starting point. We follow the old riding trail to Skálakot, and arrive there approximately 15:00. We are picked up and driven by bus back to Reykjavík where we spend the night together. Sleeping-bag accommodation at a guesthouse in Reykjavík. 30 km, 6 hours

Day 9: Departure Tour members take the bus to Keflavik Airport on their own.