Húsafell

Húsafell is a sprawling farm and church estate in an inland area in the west of Iceland. Although historically a farming area, it is now a centre for camping and summer homes and is an area that has a sunny and warm summer climate. Surrounded by hills and hiking trails, it is a great place to get away from the city and unwind. As you drive through the amazing landscape you can see the northern edge of the Langjökull glacier (the one we went snowmobiling on) beyond the mountains, and much of the area is covered by the huge Hallmundarhraun lava field, which was probably created in the beginning of the tenth century, about 50 years after the first Nordic settlers came to the country. The total length of the lava is approximately 52 km and it is around 7km in width. There are several lava caves, Stefanshellir, Surtshellir and Viðgelmir, which are situated in the narrowest stretch of the lava tongue, close to its end.

As we had nothing planned for my birthday weekend, we decided to head up to Húsafell as it was an area we hadn’t really explored yet, so we tried to check into the one and only hotel in the area, but found it was full on the Saturday night, so we booked a little bed and breakfast guesthouse just a few metres away. What a lucky choice that was, as we found ourselves an absolute gem of a place, owned and run by Sæmmi who, upon retiring decided to run a guesthouse. Sæmmi looks just like a benign Santa Claus and is a great host; he greeted us with coffee and fresh home made waffles with jam and cream when we arrived and was full of stories of the local area. Our room was country-cosy and overlooked both the little local church and the mountains.

On the way up to Húsafell we stopped at the Hraunfossar and Barnafoss waterfalls, which we had visited once before in winter, but which are definitely worth revisiting. I love the Hraunfossar waterfalls particularly, with many cascades of water emerging from the hillside lava field rather than from one main river. This waterfall, or rather these falls which translate as the ‘Lava Falls’, are serene and unique, whereas a few metres away, Barnafoss (‘the Children’s Waterfall’) is completely different; rapid and dramatic, Barnafoss is a powerful and turbulent pale blue torrent with, as is so often the case, a particularly tragic story attached to its history.

*The beautiful Hraunfossar emerging from the lava field…*

*…and the rushing blue torrent of Barnafoss*

Húsafell Canyon Baths

After lunching at the bistro of the Húsafell hotel we met our guide who was to take us to the Húsafell Canyon Baths. We had thought there was to be a hike to the baths, but in fact we were driven almost all the way there, only having to walk the last few minutes of the route, down many wooden steps into the canyon itself, where two hot pots have been created, utilising the area’s natural geothermal water. The lower of the two pools is the warmer of the two, but there wasn’t much difference between the two.

Our guide gave us the history of how and why the pools were created and explained the geological make up of the canyon itself. Matthew asked the guide if there was a cold plunge pool and the guide grinned and pointed at the river saying “Yep, right there”. So of course we tried it. Twice. We must be utterly bonkers! This river runs straight off the glacier so we were in fast-flowing glacial meltwater! Possibly the coldest thing I’ve experienced… But the hot tub afterwards is fabulous!

After drying off we headed back and decided to find our guesthouse. Tucked just off the main road, near the hotel, it was located at the start of many of the local hiking routes, and surrounded by all sorts of interesting buildings.

We had read that in the 19th century, there was a colony of artists living at Húsafell. One of these was the Icelandic painter Jóhannes S. Kjarval, a pioneer of Icelandic art in the 20th century and one of the country‘s most beloved artists. Today, the sculptor Páll (Palli) Guðmundsson lives there. Born and bred in Húsafell, he lives and works at creating interesting faces which he cuts out of local stone. One of the hiking trails follows many of his works and we had great fun finding the stones with faces and creatures carved into them. We also discovered that several of the turf-roofed buildings around the guesthouse are clearly used as studios and storage for many of the paintings and sculptures, and that the whole area is full of sculptures and works of art. After exploring these and the pretty church and churchyard which were right next to our guesthouse, we checked in, had coffee and amazing waffles, and spent a leisurely hour or so in the hot tub outside the house overlooking the valley.

We also found The Húsafell Stone, a rock stored by a sheep pen built by pastor Snorri Björnsson, a legendary lifting stone which has been used in international competitions. In fact, this stone, weighing 186kg (410lb or 29st 4lb - yes you read that right!!) used to feature in the World’s Strongest Man competition. I wanted a picture of Matthew holding it, but given how unbelievably heavy this stone is, even though it doesn’t look all that big, he seemed to think a picture of him holding it was asking a little too much! The real challenge is apparently not only to be able to lift it, but to be able to walk, whilst carrying it, right around the sheep pen!! Absolutely bonkers!

Matthew - just before deciding it was a silly idea to carry the stone around the sheep pen….

And a photo we saw in the dining room - proof that it can be done!

Dinner was at the Húsafell hotel, and was very good indeed. There was a party going on downstairs as they were showing the Eurovision Song Contest (the Icelanders LOVE Eurovision – it is a very big deal out here) and the place was buzzing. After a very fine dinner of scallops followed by salmon and poached pears, we decided to book a trip for the next day to the lava cave nearby, and then, with a busy day ahead of us, we headed for bed.

After breakfast the next day, we decided to head up the mountain behind the guesthouse as we’d seen a rather impressive waterfall that we decided to go and see. Although we didn’t get as far as the waterfall, due to my dodgy knee and rather a lot of snow that was still lying in the sheltered areas, we were rewarded with some very impressive views – and very strong winds! We also found more of Palli Guðmundsson’s stone carvings on the way.

*Stunning views - even on a moody and overcast day*

*The best attempt at a picture taken up on the mountain - it was somewhat windy!!!*

Viðgelmir - The Cave

Soon it was time for our trip to the lava cave at Viðgelmir – one of the largest lava caves in the world. It’s not somewhere you would stumble upon by accident as it is tucked away in the middle of nowhere, at one end of the Hallmundarhraun lava field. Every now and then we would be reassured we were on the right route as we’d see a sign simply saying ‘The Cave’.

After getting kitted up in our hard hats with head torches, we headed out across the lava to the entrance of the cave. The entrance to the cave was formed when part of the roof of the lava tube collapsed, creating two large openings near its north end which are the only known entrances.

This place is huge – far bigger than the Vatnshellir cave and lava tunnel in Snæfellsnes which we had visited in October. The largest lava cave in Iceland and one of the largest lava caves in the world, Víðgelmir has been a protected site since 1993. Exploring it was an unforgettable experience. Víðgelmir is approximately 1,600 metres (1 mile) long, and the cave features dazzling colors and lava formations as you walk through this subterranean lava tube. Our guide was a qualified geologist and so was able to explain just what we were seeing, and how the features had been formed as we made our way through the tunnels.

Lava tubes are formed when a fast flowing lava flow develops a continuous and hard crust which then thickens and forms a roof above the molten lava stream. When the eruption subsides, the still-molten lava moving beneath the crust will continue to drain downhill, which can leave an open lava tube.

*Navigating the narrowest part of the tunnel in the section called ‘The Squeeze’*

The entire trip took about one and a half hours as we were led into the depths of the cave from one chamber to another. We had been warned that the cave would be consistently chilly regardless of the weather above ground, so had worn several layers, which was just as well as the temperature was steady at around 0°C throughout the trip. Even though we are halfway through May, the entrance to the cave was covered in deep snow and within the first 100m or so, we could see many impressive icicles and ice formations within the cave. Here, ice water has dripped from the roof of the cave, forming many ice stalagmites that rise up from the floor of the cave. Glittering and shining in the light of our head torches, these stalagmites looked really bizzarre. Our guide joked that ‘this is where we grow our aliens’, and that’s just what they looked like!

The floor of the cave is quite rocky and uneven in most places, but wooden stairs and platforms have been built, with mesh flooring in place, which make it easier to walk without slipping. The most anxiety-inducing section is just a few metres from the entrance. This section is called ‘the squeeze’, where the tunnel is at its narrowest, forcing you to crouch down to get through the narrow gap. Fortunately, this is just for a few metres, before it opens out into a huge cavern again, and the rest of the journey is very open and easy to navigate, particularly with the walkways that have been constructed. This is caving at its very easiest! We saw so many amazing lava formations and were able to gain in insight into how these amazing places are formed. The rock walls themselves are coloured by rust, sulphur, iron and cobalt, with patches of black obsidian shining in the torchlight. There is a part of the cave, where the lava formation on the walls looks for all the world like chocolate, where the reddish-brown rock appears to be melting off the very walls. In other places it has formed long thin ‘drips’ from the ceiling, called lava straws.

It is incredible to think that the caves we were walking through have been there, largely unchanged since around 900AD! When we reached the furthest point of our tour, our guide asked us all to switch off our head torches and we were engulfed in the blackest darkness imaginable. This is the kind of darkness to which your eyes will never adjust, and even after some time of being in the dark, when we closed and then opened our eyes, or waved our hands a few millimetres in front of our open eyes it made absolutely no difference whatsoever. The thought of being trapped underground in that total darkness is quite terrifying and we were very glad to switch our lights back on and take photographs before making our way back through the tunnels and eventually out into the sunshine again. This was an incredible experience and it feels such a privilege to have had the chance to explore such an amazing place.

After our cave tour, we made a leisurely journey back to Reykjavík, stopping whenever the fancy took us. We made a stop to talk to some of the pretty Icelandic horses we passed (and feed them a few sugar lumps from the bag we had taken with us!), and met a mare with her young foal (who was far too young for sugar lumps).

We also made a quick detour to look at the church in Reykholt, and discovered that we had stopped by the famous Snorri’s Pool, one of the most historic sites in Iceland. Snorri was quite possibly the most influential Icelander ever. He was a Saga writer, politician, historiographer, and poet, as well as being a chieftain and one of the richest men in Iceland during the Sturlungaöld - the Sturlung Age and the most powerful man in Iceland. He held the power of 11 chieftainships and had a revenue of 100 farms in Iceland.

Snorri’s Pool

Snorralaug - Snorri's pool - is the warm outdoor bathing pool of Snorri Sturluson and one of the first archaeological remains to be listed in Iceland in 1817. This bath of Snorri is among the best-known heritage sites in Iceland. The pool was first mentioned in Landnáma - the Book of Settlements - written around 1200, where it says that the hot pool was in use already in the 10th century. Snorri moved here in the 13th century and the pool that can be visited now (although it is not possible to bathe in it) is a restored version of the pool Snorri would have enjoyed in the time that he lived at Reykholt.

From here we headed back and rejoined the route 1 at Borganes, and drove back to Reykjavík. With a quick stop for food, because we were starving hungry by this point, we then decided to spend the rest of Sunday soaking away any aches and stiffness from our mountain hike and lava caving, in Sky Lagoon. A very relaxed and chilled end to a surprisingly busy weekend. Having thought there would be very little to do in and around Húsafell, we ended up having a very full weekend of sightseeing and new experiences. A very enjoyable birthday weekend indeed!

Viðey Island

Seeing Langjökull by snowmobile…