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This tour through varied nature
takes us to the most popular attractions in the
South of Iceland. We leave from Vellir and follow
paths between lava and hills to the Valley of
Horses. Through soft grass, we proceed to the
beautiful and shimmering Lake Thingvallavatn. We
visit the ancient site at the Thingvellir gorge,
where Icelanders gathered from 930 to hold their
parliament.
We ride across the heather and
continue to the hot springs at Geysir. We proceed to
the fierce, giant waterfall Gullfoss with Langjökull
glacier in the background. We cross lava fields to
Thjórsá, Iceland's longest river and visit the
Waterfall of the Thieves. We ride through an
Icelandic forest to the still active volcano Hekla
where we complete our tour riding alongside the
volcano.
Itinerary
Day 1: Arrival. Take the bus from Keflavík to
Reykjavík (BSÍ). You will be greeted by us at 17.30
- 18.00. We will will arrange further transportation
to the farm Vellir in the neighborhood of Hveragerði.
In Hveragerði the you will be lodged in guesthouses.
The first evening we all have dinner together and we
provide details about the next few days.
Day 2: Hveragerði - Kolviðarhóll From Hveragerði,
in Ölfus municipality, we follow the old route to
Hellisheiði. When we reach the moor we continue to
the volcano Hengill along the lavafield
Kristnitökuhraun. This lava came from the eruption
of Hengill during the year 1000, the same year
Iceland officially became Christian. The old
folkstories say that the eruption was a revange of
the old gods Thór, Óðinn and Freyr. We continue on
the track between lava and hills "milli hrauns og
hlíðar", down to Kolviðarhóll where people have
stopped for a rest for hundreds of years. We spend
the night at Vellir. 21 km, 4 hours.
Day 3: Kolviðarhóll - Thingvellir We continue
north below the mountains Húsmúli and Hengill. We
dismount and lead the horses through the narrow
cleft to Marardalur (Valley of Horses). We ride
through Dyrfjöll (Door mountains) and when we reach
the mountain top we can overlook lake Thingvallavatn.
The track continues along the lake past Hestvík to
the farm Heiðarbær. After that we take sightseeing
at the old Althing (Icelandic legislative assembly).
From here it is not far to Skógarhólar where we
spend the night. The big national horse competition
was held at Skógarhólar until 1978. 38 km, 6-7
hours.
Day 4: Thingvellir - Geysir This day we ride
across the National Park Thingvellir. From Gjábakki
we got an exceptionell view over the park. We can
see the lake Thingvallavatn, the largest lake in
Iceland. This is also the area where the North
American and the European crustal plates meet. We
cross the moor Lyngdalsheiði, where we make a stop
at the caves Laugarvatnshellir. We finish this day´s
ride outside the village Laugarvatn, named after the
lake nearby. The lake is heated up of underwater
hotsprings. The bus takes us to our guesthouse in
Haukadalur, near the hot springs of Geysir. From
here we make a trip to Gullfoss, one of the most
beautiful waterfalls in Europe. 35 km, 6-7 hours.
Day 5: Geysir - Helgaskáli From Geysir we
continue up towards the highland of Iceland. From
Brúarhlöð we have a magnificent view over the white
river Hvítá and we can see how the river during
hundreds of years has shaped the mountain and flows
deeper and deeper into it. We spend the night in a
hut called Helgaskáli beside the river Litla-Laxá.
35 km, 6-7 hours.
Day 6: Helgaskáli - Hólaskógur We ride through
the highland and listen to the silence until we
reach Háifoss, which is the second highest waterfall
in Iceland, 122 metres high. Our goal is the hut
Hólaskógur around which the nature is very special
and varied. We hear the goast story about the old
hut, which is located a few hundred metres away from
the newer one, and can take a bath in the clean and
cold river Fossá. 20 km, 4 hours.
Day 7: Hólaskógur - Fellsmúli The tour goes on
along Icelands longest river Thjórsá. We pass the
mountain Búrfell, which in the old days was the home
of trolls, and Tröllkonuhlaup (the place where the
trollwoman jumped over the river). After some
kilometres along the river we get a magnificent view
over Thjófafoss (the Waterfall of the Thiefs),
around which many stories are told. We can see the
volcano Hekla when we leave the horses at the farm
Fellsmúli. We spend the night at Laugaland school.
Here we have the possibilities to swim or just relax
in the hot pots. 45 km, 8 hours.
Day 8: Fellsmúli - Fellsmúli We go on along
Eystri-Rangá and enjoy the riding on soft grass. The
whole day we have the volcano Hekla in view, the
volcano which once was called the way from earth
down to hell. We ride in a circle and leave the
horses at Laugarland and around 15.30 we go by bus
back to Reykjavík where we spend the evening
together. 24 km, 4 hours. - dinner
not included today
Day 9: Departure - take the airport bus to
Keflavík Airport on your own. |
