Day 1 - Arrival
Riding: No riding.
The meeting point for this ride is between 17:30- 18:00 at the BSÍ bus stataion in Reykjavík or at your hotel. If you arrive in Iceland the same day you should take the “Flybus” from the airport to BSÍ final bus stop in Reykjavík (not included).
Your hosts will then drive you to their farm Vellir near Hveragerði where you will spend your first night in their guesthouse. You will meet your fellow riders and get to know each other during the dinner at Hotel Eldhestar. The day will end with a detailed description of what you can expect on your ride.
Day 2 - Hveragerdi – Kolvidarhóll
Riding: 4 hours
You will start the day by getting to know the horses in the paddock on the farm. After lunch, you follow the old route from Hveragerdi to Hellisheidi and when you reach the moor, continue to the Hengill volcano along the Kristnitökuhraun lava field. This lava came from the eruption of Hengill in the year 1000, the same year Iceland officially became Christian. The old folktales say that the eruption was the revenge of the old gods Thór, Ódinn and Freyr.
You then continue on the track between lava and hills (“milli hrauns og hlidar”), down to Kolvidarhóll, where people have stopped to rest for hundreds of years. The night will be spent at the farm.
Riding distance: 21 kms
Day 3 - Kolvidarhóll – Heiðarbær
Riding: 6 - 7 hours
Today you continue North below the Húsmúli and Hengill mountains. You will need to dismount and lead the horses through the narrow cleft to Marardalur (Valley of Horses) then ride through Dyrfjöll (Door mountains) and alongside Sköflungur. Once you reach the mountaintop, the view over Lake Thingvallavatn, the largest lake in Iceland is spectacular.
After arriving near Heiðarbær, you will end the day with the sights seeing at the old Althing (Icelandic Parliament). From here, it is not far to Skógarhólar, where you spend the night in a mountain hut. Iceland’s national horse competition Landsmot was held at Skógarhólar until 1978.
Riding distance: 38 kms
Day 4 - Skógarhólar – Geysir/Myrkholt
Riding: 6 - 7 hours
After breakfast you will ride towards the Thingvellir National Park. From Gjábakki you will have an exceptional view over the park, lake Thingvallavatn and the stunning volcanic landscape around it. This is the area where the North American and European continental plates meet. The plates are drifting apart about 2 cm per year on average, which has created a beautiful valley.
The ride then crosses Lyngdalsheidi Moor, and stops at the Laugarvatnshellir lava caves before you finish the day’s ride outside the village of Laugarvatn, named after the nearby lake. The lake is heated by underwater hot springs.
The bus will take you to Guesthouse Myrkholt and then on a sightseeing tour to the famous “golden waterfall” Gullfoss, and to the Geysir hot spring area in Haukadalur.
Riding distance: 35 kms
Day 5 - Geysir/Myrkholt – Helgaskáli
Riding: 6 - 7 hours
From Myrkholt you continue up towards the Icelandic highlands, leaving the inhabited farmlands. On your way into the desert-like landscape you will have a magnificent view over the glacial river Hvítá (“white river”), and see how the river, over hundreds of years, has shaped the mountain, flowing deeper and deeper into it.
You will spend the night in a mountain hut called Helgaskáli beside the Litla-Laxá River.
Riding distance: 35 kms
Day 6 - Helgaskáli – Hólaskógar
Riding: 4 hours
This morning you will continue riding through the fascinating, wide landscape in the highlands where you can actually listen to the silence until reaching Háifoss, which is with its 122 meters the second highest waterfall in Iceland.
Your destination for the night is the Hólaskógar hut, which is located in a very special and varied environment.
Riding distance: 20 kms
Day 7 - Hólaskógur – Fellsmúli
Riding: 8 hours
The ride continues along Iceland’s longest river Thjórsá and passes the Mt. Búrfell, which, in the old days, was the home of trolls, and Tröllkonuhlaup (the place where a troll woman jumped over the river).
After some kilometres along the river, you get a magnificent view over Thjófafoss (the Waterfall of the Thieves), about which many stories are told. You will leave the horses at the Fellsmúli Farm and from here will be able to see the Mount Hekla Volcano.
You will spend the night at the old community center Brúarlundur.
Riding distance: 45 kms
Day 8 - Fellsmúli – Fellsmúli
Riding: 4 hours
For your final ride you will take the path along Eystri-Rangá River and enjoy riding on soft grass. The whole day you will have the Hekla volcano in view, Iceland’s most active volcano which was once called the entrance to hell. You will ride back to Fellsmúli and then leave the horses here.
Around 15:30 the bus will collect you and takes you first to Eldhestar for some refreshments and later to Reykjavik, where the tour ends.
Riding distance: 24 kms
Note: All programmes and itineraries are weather dependent; in the face of adverse, or unexpected, weather conditions reasonable attempts will be made to provide equivalent riding. All programmes are accurate at the time of writing. However, the team may adapt or modify details, whilst aiming to provide a similar experience.
