Kjölur – the Mystic Trail

We start the tour at the remote farm of Kaldbakur and ride towards Hrunakrókur which marks the start of the formidable Laxárgljúfur Caynon which is up to 200m deep. We ride an old path along the canyon providing many breathtaking views. In the latter part of the day we enter the Hrunamannaafréttur highlands where we ride to north-west to river Búðará where we leave the horses and drive a to the mountain hut in Svínárnes where we spend the night.

We start the day by taking a short drive to Búðará where we left the horses. The first part of the day we ride alongside a long fell Búrfell. To the west is an impressive view to Langjökull Glacier and the Jarlhettur Mountain range. We arrive at the hut in Svínárnes where we have lunch and change horses.

In the latter part of the day we ride west to river Hvítá and explore the Ábóti waterfall, a natural treasure that very few people get to see. From Ábóti we ride east to river Grjótá and follow very nice riding paths all the way to the magical mountain hut in Fosslækur.

We ride towards the impressive Kerlingarfjöll mountain range which was formed in series of volcanic eruptions under the icecap of the last ice age. While we approach it, we will see the rock Kerling which according to folklore used to be a huge female troll that turned to stone when she was caught by the morning sun. The mountain range is named after her. Our path turns to west passing Mt. Mosfell, crossing the glacier river Jökulfall arriving at a well equipped hut Gíslaskáli at the edge of the Kjalhraun lavafield and at the start of river Svartá.

We enter the formidable lavafield of Kjalhraun and ride an ancient route estabished by the Vikings soon after the settlement in the 9th century.. The trail is marked by spectacular waystones and has been the major route connecting the north and the south ever since. The environment is ghostly and is the stage for many stories of the Icelandic folklore. We pass Beinhóll (Hill of Bones) where two brothers from Skagafjörður perished in the year 1780 with their 3 fellow companions, 16 horses and 300 sheep. Their story is one of great mystery and their fate made people abandon tours over Kjölur for over a hundred years. A little later we pass the cave Grettishellir, where Grettir Ásmundarson, famous for his strength and fighting skills, lived as an outlaw about 1000 years ago.

As soon as we exit the lavafield we ride towards river Blanda which is one of three major rivers that we have to cross before we arrive at our hut. The others are Svartahvísl and Strangahvísl. These rivers are quite safe to cross, but they provide an exciting experience when the horses wade through the heavy stream of opaque glacial water.

From Strangahvísl we ride north over heaths of beautiful vegetation. The intense aroma of the fields of wild thyme which we ride through towards the end of the day is something you will not forget. This is a short day which give us a breather to recover from the long and taxing day through Kjalhraun.

From Galtará we ride east to lake Aðalsmannsvatn and start the climb up to the high plain above Gilhagi valley. From the high plain we have an amazing view of almost all north Iceland. As we start to decend into the Gilhagi valley the vegetation grows thicker. The trails are good and this is an opportunity to ride fast tölt while enjoying the beautiful landscape of the valley with its spectacular rock formations.

After a nice breakfast, a bus will pick you up around 12:00 and take you to downtown Reykjavík arriving around 17:00