Húsafell is a large farm and church site in the Borgarfjörður district of West Iceland. With incredible natural beauty, it has been a popular resting spot for travellers since the earliest days of the country.
History of Húsafell
Húsafell is quite inland for an Icelandic settlement, made possible due to the fertile lands and relative lack of eruptions in the area. In spite of its distance from the coast, fishing has always been popular due to the trout lakes and salmon rivers within it.
A rectory once stood on the farm, gaining it fame as a location across the country when it was in its deepest religious throes, although all that remains now is a church.
The settlement was also well known for being somewhat of an oasis for weary travellers. Those travelling from regions such as the north, the Westfjords, and the Snæfellsnes Peninsula, on their way to and from Reykjavík or Þingvellir National Park, would often find that this was one of the very few places en route they could comfortably find refuge and food.
Due to Iceland’s harsh conditions, it became very taboo to turn down a houseguest, although to counter this, due to its scarcity of resources it was also taboo to stay longer than three days.
Húsafell gained a new reputation in the 19th Century when a colony of artists, including Jóhannes S. Kjarval, perhaps the country’s most important painter, lived and worked there. It has continued this tradition for art, with sculptor and musician Páll Guðmundsson being its most famous current resident.
Guðmundsson is best known for his carvings of stone faces, and for the stone harps he has created. He has played these alongside the internationally acclaimed Icelandic band, Sigur Ros.
Services and Features of Húsafell
Today, Húsafell is most popular and well-known as a camping location. There are many campsites, cabins, bungalows and holiday homes to be rented in the area, making it very popular amongst both locals and travellers. The old farmhouse, dating back to 1904, is also now a hotel.
Hiking is very popular, due to the beautiful birch forest of Húsafellsskógur; due to the fact that Húsafell is reasonably sheltered, the trees here can reach four metres (13 feet) tall, which is unusual in Iceland. Because of the force of the wind, Icelandic birch tends to form more like a gnarled bush.
This forest grows from a lava field, where geothermal pools can be found.
The dramatic mountain Tengil also provides many hiking opportunities; it was this mountain that named the area, with ‘húsa’ meaning home and ‘fell’ meaning ‘mountain’.
Húsafell is also blessed with its proximity to many incredible natural features of Iceland. Two of the most significant of these are the waterfalls Hraunfossar and Barnafoss, which are located right beside each other. Hraunfossar trickles in many tiny streams from a wide plateau of jagged lava rock, while Barnafoss rushes down a narrow valley with daunting force.
The highest flowing hot spring in Europe, Deildartunghver, is also found nearby.
For those seeking to explore the Snæfellsnes Peninsula or Westfjords, Húsafell provides a great location to spend the night before, putting you closer to both locations.
The mighty Langjökull, the ‘Long Glacier’, is the second-largest glacier in Iceland, at 935 square kilometres (361 square miles). For jeep and snowmobile trips, Langjökull is the most popular glacier in Iceland, and skiing and hiking here is possible as well.
Highland tracks
Langjökull is located in the Highlands, and two main highland tracks, connecting the north and the south of Iceland, lie alongside it.
The Kaldidalur road stretches from Þingvellir National Park northwards to Húsafell. The Kjalvegur road, meanwhile lies east of Langjökull and west of Hofsjökull glacier, starting near the famous Gullfoss waterfall to the south, and passing through the beautiful Hveravellir geothermal area to the north.
The landscape of Langjokull
Langjökull is about 50 kilometres (31 miles) long and up to 20 kilometres (12 miles) wide, and the ice is around 580 metres (1,903 feet) deep at its thickest. The glacier reaches its highest point in its northernmost part, which is called Baldjökull, rising around 1,450 metres (4,757 feet) above sea level.
The glacier lies over a massif of hyaloclastite mountains. The tops of these mountains can be seen in certain places on the glacier. It also conceals at least two active volcanic systems, the calderas of which are visible from the air.
The best known of these systems fuels the geothermal area of Hveravellir, east of Baldjökull. Also in the east lies the Kjalhraun lava field, which formed about 7800 years ago.
To the northwest of the glacier is another system that produced the vast Hallmundarhraun lava field, through which the Hvítá river runs in the direction of Gullfoss waterfall. Also in the area is Iceland‘s longest lava cave, the fascinating Surtshellir.
Southwest of Langjökull is the Presthnúkur lava field, fissures of which creep under the ice. South of the glacier is the Lambahraun lava field and even further south lies the Skjaldbreiðarhraun lava field and the Skjaldbreiður shield volcano.
Compared to other regions in Iceland, the area is considered relatively calm, with only 32 eruptions in the last 10,000 years.
Into the glacier
Near the highest peaks of Langjökull exists a man-made ice tunnel, a true spectacle for any visitor passing by the glacier. Designed and constructed by geophysicist and presidential candidate Ari Trausti Guðmundsson, the tunnel exists to allow visitors to explore the inside of a glacier without having to come to Iceland in mid-winter for a chance to see the less-than-reliable ice caves.
Guests traverse beneath Langjökull's thick ice sheet, experiencing the vivid blue colouration within, and gaining an insight into the glacier's beauty, formation and processes. It is the only place in the world where this is possible. ‘Into the Glacier’ tours are often combined with adventure activities such as snowmobiling.
Nearby glaciers
The glaciers located nearest to Langjökull are Eiríksjökull, which conceals the highest mountain in west Iceland, and Þórisjökull. Hrútfellsjökull also lies on the east side of Langjökull.
Between Þórisjökull and Geitlandsjökull is a valley called Þórisdalur. Along with stunning views, it features prominently in Icelandic folk tales; the outlaw Grettir the Strong of Grettis Saga, for example, is reported to have resided here for one winter.
Langjokull and the Golden Circle
Iceland’s most popular sightseeing route, the Golden Circle, would not be possible if not for Langjökull glacier; none of its three iconic features would exist in their current state without the melting ice.
Gullfoss waterfall is the most obvious example of this. The river that feeds into it, the Hvítá, is a glacier river flowing straight from Langjökull; the scale of the ice cap is hinted at by the sheer volume of water that cascades here every second.
The hot springs at Geysir, meanwhile, are supplied with water underground. Meltwater from Langjökull feeds into the surrounding lava fields, which have very porous rock, and flows in a subterranean river to the geothermal area, where it comes bursting out of the naturally forms vents.
While Þingvellir would still have its National Park and World Heritage status without Langjökull, which it received for being the original site of what is now the longest-running representative parliament in the world, it would be notably less beautiful.
Many springs exist throughout the park, also formed by the underground meltwater of the glacier. Due to its long filtration process, the water emerges as some of the clearest naturally occurring water in the world.
Silfra fissure, therefore, is the best snorkelling and diving location in the country and consistently ranked as one of the top ten places for such activities in the world.
Global warming
Langjökull is shrinking fast and concerns have been raised about the glacier due to the effect of global warming. Some researchers fear that if climate change continues at its current rate the glacier may be gone in 150 years. Less optimistic scientists have said it could be gone in as few as 50.
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