Sprengisandur  Tour # 19
Between Glaciers into the Desert Wilderness

We ride along the ancient Sprengisandur route that crosses Iceland. We explore some of the most fascinating and extreme contrasts of the Icelandic landscape. In the south, we ride along soft green paths, along the riverbanks of Thjórsá River, and through a lava valley created by an 800-year-old eruption of the volcano Hekla. The spectacular wilderness of Iceland emerges as we follow the sand and rock plains across Sprengisandur between the Vatnajökull and Hofsjökull glaciers. In sharp contrast to this barren landscape, we stop at a hot spring, where we have the opportunity to relax in geothermal waters. During the tour, we pass Arnarfell Mountain, Iceland’s geographical centre. We arrive in North Iceland at the bottom of Eyjafjördur Fjord, one of the longest fjords in Iceland.

Itinerary

Day 1: Arrival
Arrival at Keflavík Airport, Iceland. You take the bus from Keflavík to Reykjavík (BSÍ).You will be greeted by our representatives at 17.30 - 18.00, who will arrange further transportation to the farm Vellir in the neighborhood of the town Hveragerði. There the tour members will be lodged in guesthouses. The first evening we will all have dinner together and we provide details about the next few days.

Day 2: Hveragerdi - Fellsmúli - Hólaskógur
From Hveragerdi, in the Ölfus municipality, we drive to the farm Fellsmúli near the Mt. Hekla volcano. The riding tour starts there, and we follow the soft paths through a birch forest, to the old farm Skarfanes. On our way to Tröllkonuhlaup we pass the waterfall Thjófafoss. From there, we ride over the sand to the hut Hólaskógur where we spend the night. 50-60 km, 9 hrs.

Day 3: Hólaskógur - Hrauneyjarfoss
We continue north-east of the Thjórsá River, Iceland longest river. The landscape changes steadily into wilderness. We spend the night at Hrauneyjar, near a hydroelectric plant. 35 km, 7 hrs.

Day 4: Hrauneyjarfoss - Versalir
Today we ride from Hrauneyjarfoss Falls to Versalir, a resting place at the beginning of Sprengisandur, known from the song "Á Sprengisandur" (Ridum, ridum...). On this route, we see many mountains and the glaciers Vatnajökull and Hofsjökull. 50-60 km, 9 hrs.

Day 5: Versalir - Nýi Dalur
This day is also long, about 60 km. The landscape is similar to that of Day 4, but we come near the glaciers and ride between them. East of us we can see Mt. Arnarfell, a green mountain in the middle of Iceland. We now enter Sprengisandur. We pass the dwellings of some of the most famous Icelandic outlaws, for example, that of Fjalla-Eyvindur. We spend the night in a big mountain hut in Nýi-Dalur. 60 km, 10 hrs.

Day 6: Nýi-Dalur - Laugafell
On our way from Nýi Dalur, we ride on big sand dunes. We have spectacular views as the landscape of North Iceland begins to open before us, and we leave the three biggest glaciers in Iceland behind. We spend the night in the Laugafell mountain hut where we can bathe in a hot pot. 45 km 9 hrs.

Day 7: Laugafell -Halldórsstadir in Eyjafjördur
We ride from Laugafell in the direction of Eyjafjördur Fjörd, where the green natural surroundings, lush with bushes and some woods, start to dominate the landscape more . We start to glimpse a most beautiful view over Eyjafjördur and Akureyri. The tour ends at the Halldórsstadir Farm in Eyjafjördur. From there we will be driven to Akureyri Airport and fly back to Reykjavik. Our planned arrival there is around 16:30 p.m. 35 km, 6 hrs.

Day 8: Departure
You take the bus to Keflavik Airport. (not included)