Day 1. Reykjavík – Akureyri – Bjarnastaðir – Hljóðaklettar – Hafursstaðir – Bjarnastaðir
Meeting place is at Reykjavík Domestic Airport at 06:20. We fly to Akureyri and drive to Bjarnastaðir farm. Please bring your passport or other identification for your domestic flight. After taking a bus to Bjarnastaðir Farm where we enjoy a soup for lunch, we saddle up and ride along the majestic Jökulsá river and the canyon Jökulsárgljúfur till we reach Hafursstaðir, an abandoned farm where the horses stay for the night. On the other site of the river we see Hljóðaklettar (Echo Rocks), a distinctive cluster of columnar rock formations. After leaving the horses at Hafursstaðir, we drive back to Bjarnastaðir Farm to soak in the hot tub while looking forward to continuing our journey. Approx.11 km.
Day 2. Bjarnastaðir – Hafursstaðir – Grímsstaðir – Bjarnastaðir
After a good night’s rest we will meet our horses at Hafursstaðir farm and saddle up. The trail of the day takes us over Hólasandur, the largest desert in Iceland. We ride on old riding trails and excellent riding paths all the way up to Grímsstaðir á Fjöllum, the highest lying farm in the country, where we say goodbye to the horses to head back to Bjarnastaðir Farm. There we stay for our last night before journeying further East.
Day 3. Bjarnastaðir – Grímsstaðir – Möðrudalur
On this wonderful day we head up to Grímsstaðardalur valley. On the way we ride along the mountain ridge Víðidalsfjallgarður and through the gap Sótaskarð. As if we are riding through the ages, we see what once was…. old abandoned farms in vast wilderness. We stop for lunch at an old sheepfold which has been turned into a small shop, before we mount back on our horses. We ride about 8 km up to the valley of Möðrudalur, right in the middle of nowhere in the Icelandic wilderness, where we stay for the night. Möðrudalur is a sleeping bag accommodation. Approx 33 km.
Day 4. Möðrudalur – Sænautasel
We will be riding along the same old riding path that people travelled between the North and East in the old days. Following the western mountain ridge until we come across Skessugarður or Troll garden which is a giant natural stone formation formed by a Giantess! It’s totally true! Ok then… another possible way that it was formed is by an ice-age glacier. The large arch shaped moraine is over 300 meters long and almost 7 meters high. We take our lunch there before continuing our ride to Sænautasel, an old turf house and the last farm in this wilderness where people lived. There, we leave our horses and drive back to Möðrudalur where we stay our second night. Approx. 22 km.
Day 5. Sænautasel – Klaustursel – Vaðbrekka
Get ready for a stunning day! We will get our well rested herd at Sænautasel, saddle up and follow excellent riding paths up to Klaustursel. On the way we will be able to view the wild reindeers that live in the area. Before arriving at our destination for the night, we visit the waterfall Stuðlafoss and the canyon Stuðlagil by car. An absolutely gorgeous canyon formed under the river Jökulsá á Brú. Stuðlagil canyon has one of the largest number of basalt rock columns in Iceland while Stuðlafoss, the hidden gem, is no less breathtaking. Its basalt columns form seats with neon green vegetation. We spend the night in Vaðbrekka, a farm house in Hrafnkelsdal. Approx. 30 km.
Day 6. Vaðbrekka –Valþjófstaður – Óbyggðasetur
This is our last riding day on this venturesome riding tour. We will still be riding with a view over the wild reindeers and maybe see the arctic fox running after his prey. The majestic mountains Snæfell and Herðubreið, that were formed beneath the Ice sheet that covered Iceland during the last glacial age, will also be within our sight. And once again we will be reminded of the real forces of nature.
Day 7. Egilsstaðir – Reykjavík
After breakfast we drive to Egilsstaðir to catch a flight to Reykjavik Domestic Airport. We will arrive around 10am to Reykjavik.
– We reserve the right to change the itinerary if necessary –
Day-by-day itinerary East – North:
Day 1 Reykjavík – Egilsstaðir – Óbyggðarsetur
Meeting place is in Reykjavík Domestic airport at 17:30 for the flight to Egilsstaðir. We will drive to Vök and have a delicious soup and bread and soak in the natural geothermal pool Vök afterwards.
Day 2 Fellabær – Valþjófsstaður – Vaðbrekka
We will be riding with a view over the wild reindeers of the area and maybe see the arctic fox running after his prey. The majestic mountains Snæfell and Herðubreið, that were formed beneath the Ice sheet that covered Iceland during the last glacial age, are within our sight reminding us of how much force nature can be. We spend the night in Vaðbrekka, a farm house in Hrafnkelsdal.
Day 3 Vaðbrekka – Klaustursel – Sænautasel
From Vaðbrekka we will drive to visit the waterfall Stuðlafoss and the canyon Stuðlagil. An absolutely gorgeous canyon formed under the river Jökulsá á Brú. Stuðlagil canyon has one of the largest number of basalt rock columns in Iceland while Stuðlafoss, the hidden gem, is no less breathtaking. Its basalt columns form seats with neon green vegetation. After our visit our horse ride continues towards Klaustursel. On our way we will be able to view the wild reindeers that live in the area. From Klaustursel we follow excellent riding paths into the wilderness towards the old turf house Sænautasel, the last farm where people lived. Our horses will stay there while we drive back to Möðrudalur for the night. Approx. 30 km.
Day 4 Sænautasel – Möðrudalur
After picking up our horses at Sænautasel we will ride to the mountain ridge where we have our lunch. This large arch shaped moraine, named Skessugarður or Troll garden, is over 300 meters long and almost 7 meters high. It is a giant natural stone formation formed by a Giantess! It’s totally true! Ok then…. possibly it was formed by an ice-age glacier. We ride along the mountain ridge and continue on the same old riding path that people travelled between the East and North in the old days. Once we arrive in the valley of Möðrudalur we ride about 8 km till we are right in the middle of the Icelandic wilderness. Möðrudalur is a sleeping bag accommodation and there we stay the night. Approx. 22 km.
Day 5 Möðrudalur – Grímsstaðir – Bjarnastaðir
We leave the valley of Möðrudalur and head towards the mountain ridge Víðidalsfjallgarður by crossing the gap Sótaskarð. As if we are riding through the ages, we see what once was… old abandoned farms in vast wilderness. We stop for lunch at an old sheepfold which has been turned into a small shop, before we mount back on our horses heading towards the valley Grímsstaðardalur. Once we arrive at Grímsstaðir á Fjöllum, the highest lying farm in the country, we leave our horses and head to Bjarnastaðir farm where we stay for the night. Approx. 33 km.
Day 6 Bjarnastaðir – Grímsstaðir – Hafursstaðir – Bjarnastaðir
We start the day by riding to Grímsstaðir á Fjöllum, the highest lying farm in the country, before continuing over Iceland’s largest desert, Hólasandur. From there on we head back to Bjarnastaðir to soak in the hot pot, rest and stay the night before continuing further north.
Day 7 Bjarnastaðir- Hafursstaðir – Hljóðaklettar – Bjarnastaðir – Akureyri – Reykjavík
From Bjarnastaðir we drive to Hafursstaðir, an abandoned farm, where we pick up our horses, saddle up and ride along the majestic Jökulsá river and the canyon Jökulsárgljúfur. On the other side of the river we see Hljóðaklettar (Echo Rocks), a distinctive cluster of columnar rock formations. From Bjarnastaðir we say goodbye to our horses and staff before driving to Akureyri for our flight back to Reykjavík. We arrive to Reykjavik around 17:30pm.
