Reykjanes

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• Reittour Sud

This tour is a feast for those who are interested in the geology of Iceland. The tour starts by the famous Geysir geothermal area where the highly active Strokkur fountain geyser ejects its water column 30 meters (90 ft) into the air every 8 minutes or so. We ride along the beautiful shield volcano Skjaldbreiður on our way to Þingvellir, where the Vikings held their parlament from 930 A.D. There the continental drift between the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates can be clearly seen in the cracks or faults which traverse the region. Geologically speaking we ride from Europe to America and back!

We continue through the beautiful national park of Þingvellir down to the sea, following the perfect riding trails of “Drift” heath and the banks of Ölfusá river and along the coast of the Reykjanes peninsula with its unique geology formed by countless volcanic eruptions. It is said that in 1000 A.D. when the Christianisation of Iceland was debated at the parlament at Þingvellir there were volcanos erupting in 9 places in on the Reykjanes peninsula. The opponents of Christianity in Iceland claimed that the heaten gods where by this expressing their anger. The lava caves formed by underground lava flows, “frozen” lava rivers and lava “waterfalls” of the Reykjanes peninsula are absolutely breathtaking and will remind that Earth is very much alive.

Horse riders will be very impressed by the ancient riding trails through the lava fields close to Herdísarvík where the hoofs of thousands of horses through the centuries have dug a 10 – 15 cm deep channel into the rock hard lava.

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