Golden Highlights - Iceland

The tour members arrive at Keflavík Airport, Iceland. They take the bus from Keflavík to Reykjavík (BSÍ). They will be greeted by representatives of Eldhestar at 17.30 - 18.00, who will arrange further transportation to the farm Vellir in the neighborhood of Hveragerði. In Hveragerði the tour members will be lodged in guesthouses. The first evening we all have dinner together and Eldhestar provides details about the next few days.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Departure The tour members take the bus to Keflavík Airport on their own.

Included in the prices are transfer to and from Reykjavik, full board, except dinner on the last evening, accommodation (sleeping bag), helmet and raingear. To add some luxurious comfort to your riding tour you can stay in the new eco-hotel Eldhestar on the nights before and after your ride for an additional cost of £55 per night double room. We can also arrange shorter tours to the Lagoon or Whale watching, please ask for details at time of booking.

Note: Every other tour goes in the opposite direction.