Hraunfossar – Real Treasure
8 days – 7 nights – 6 riding days.
Amongst legends and glaciers.
A riding tour through the mysterious landscape of legends and myths.
There are many myths and legends inspired by the wilderness and rural areas of Iceland. On this tour you will get to know many of the legends of Snorri Sturlusson, which also inspired Tolkien in his famous work Lord of the Rings.
The 6 days long riding tour will go through an amazing landscape with glaciers, rivers and beautiful, green valleys. Throughout the whole stay, Oddsstađir will be our base, and we will ride out from the farm and explore the varied landscape that surrounds it.
Day 1: Arrival
You will be greeted at Keflavik airport, and from there the drive goes to Oddsstaðir.
When arriving at Oddsstaðir farmhouse you will be shown to your room where you will sleep during the stay. All beds are prepared with pillow/blanket and linens. At the farm there is a hot tub, and there is a natural hotspring as well as a swimming pool nearby.
After dining together we will provide information about the next days.
Day 2: Oddsstaðir – Hellur
On the first day of riding we will lead our herd of ca 60 horses from Oddsstaðir, down our stunning valley Lundarreykjadalur on the gravel road. We will then ride on a nice path along the old post road by the mountain Varmarlækjarmúla, and end the day at the farm Hellum. The first day we will be riding for about 5 hours over a distance of 20 km.
Day 3: Hellur – Steinðórsstaðir
This day we will ride into the walley Flókadalur, on gravel road and grassy banks by the river Flókaá. Then we will ride over the mountain to Reykholtsdalur, giving us stunning views over Borgarfjörður. We end our day at the farm Steindórsstaðir, after approximately 25km ride.
Day 4: Steindórstaðir – Fljótstunga
Today we will ride alongside, as well as cross, the river Reykjadalsá and further on to Húsafell. With its birch forest, rivers and view over the black sand, mountains and glaciers. This district is a popular tourist area, and is called the pearl between the glaciers and the lava.
The ride is about 35 km long. On the way back home from our ride we will visit the waterfalls Hraunfossar and Barnafoss.
Day 5: Fljótstunga – Steindórsstaðir
The ride goes to Reykholtsdalur, where the famous Icelandic story teller and author Snorri Sturluson lived in the 11th century, and where Tolkien later found inspiration for his masterpieces. Here we also find the greatest hot spring on Iceland, the Deildartunguhver.
The ride is about 30 km long.
Day 6: Steindórsstöðum – Heggsstaðir
Todays ride will start on the gravel roads down the walley Reykholtsdalur, continuing on to grass and sand banks along Flókadalsá and Hvítá river until we reach Hvítárbakki.
At the farm Hvítárbakki there used to be a horse taming center around 1970, where men such as Reynir Aðalsteinsson, Eyjólfur Ísólfsson and Pétur Berens sowed the seeds to the big information wave about the Icelandic horse that is still going strong today. From Hvítárbakki we will follow and cross the river Grímsá until we reach our destination for the day, Heggsstaðir.
The ride is about 30 km long.
Day 7: Heggsstaðir – Oddsstaðir
On the last day of riding the herd is lead into the stunning Lundarreykjadalur. Most of the way we ride far away from the traffic, along the grassy banks of Grímsá famous salmon river. The river is crossed several times and on the way we can have a beautiful view over Borgarfjörður. This is the riding path all the way to Oddsstaðir.
The Ride is about 28 km. In the evening we will enjoy a feast meal together.
Day 8: Depature
The bus will leave Oddsstaðir in the morning (06.00) taking us to Keflavík (counting on flight depature being ca 10.30 or later).
On the tours there will be 5-7 hours of riding everyday on different horses.
(Notice: Please read the rules and regulations at Import of riding equipment | Matvælastofnun (mast.is) before your arrival.)
