Vikings of Thule - Golden Circle & Hveravellir - Two Days

We will start our two-day tour by driving from Reykjavík to Thingvellir National Park, where the Great Atlantic Rift is clearly visible and is slowly pulling Iceland apart. The Icelandic parliament Althingi was established there in 930 AD. In 2004 Thingvellir National Park was added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List.

Then we continue to the geothermally active valley of Haukadalur which contains the super Geysir which very rarely spouts, but when it does it can erupt steaming water 200 feet upwards. The geyser Strokkur spouts hot water about 60-100 feet upwards every 5 - 8 minutes.

After enjoying the geysers we will drive to Gullfoss waterfall, in the river Hvita which originates from the lake Hvitarvatn on the southeast side of Langjokull Glacier. Gullfoss Europe’s largest waterfall. We will have a short lunch-break here at Gullfoss Restaurant.

We will continue our drive into the highlands through the Kjolur road to Hvitarvatn Glacier Lake where we will have a fantastic view up to the glaciers, Sudurjokull, and Nordurjokull, both outlet glaciers of Langjokull.

On our way to Hveravellir, we will pass Kjalhraun an enormous lava field. When arriving in Hveravellir we will spend the rest of the day relaxing in the natural geothermal pool or enjoying some light hiking around the amazing hot spring area. The pool and its entire surroundings are magnificent, offering a beautiful view of the geothermal area, Kjalhraun lava field, and Langjokull.

We will spend the night at Hveravellir. During the winter the restaurant is only open for groups with advance reservations and then your guide will prepare meals for you.

In the morning we will take a walk to see the hideaway of the outlaw Fjalla-Eyvindur (Mountain Eyvindur), the most famous of all Icelandic outlaws. Fjalla-Eyvindur and his wife Halla reportedly fled into the highlands shortly after 1760 and spent some 20 years living in the wilderness at Hveravellir. We can see a tumbledown circle of rocks that was their home and Eyvindarrétt, the sheep pen where he kept the sheep that he had stolen from the farmers. At Hveravellir numerous place names recall their stay like the hot spring Eyvindarhver that has a fitted wall of stones around it to facilitate the boiling of meat.

We will then take the car and visit Beinahóll (Bones Hill), a historical spot, an 11 km distance from Hveravellir. On the way, our guide will tell you the story of Beinahóll. Next, we continue to Þjófafell (Mountain of Thieves) and Þjófadalir (Valleys of Thieves), around 14 km from Hveravellir.

We will return to Hveravellir where you will have some free time to relax in the hot pool, do some hiking in the rhyolite mountains of Kerlingarfjoll depending on the season. Weather conditions and other factors will determine which hiking routes are explored.

In the afternoon we return to Reykjavík where you will be dropped off at your hotel.