Authentic 2 Day Summer Country Experience in the Icelandic Highlands with Waterfalls & Horse Riding
Description
Summary
Description
Come and dive into the Icelandic summer! On this tour, you will experience a compelling mix of activity, history and great food in an authentic environment.
You will encounter fascinating nature, sleep in an authentic, renovated farmhouse, ride the friendly Icelandic horse, and feel the excitement while being hand-pulled across a glacial river in a cableway cart. You will also visit the nearby highlands with their beautiful mountains, deep canyons, lakes, and hot springs.
Our kitchen will give you the experience of eating a home cooked meal made from locally sourced ingredients and traditional Icelandic food. While you wait for the meal, you can speak with your hosts as they prepare the food in an open kitchen.
Our wilderness museum is a visually stunning, interactive experience. The experience extends both indoors and outdoors. It is designed by historians, filmmakers, and artists to make you feel like you are a part of the life and travels in and next to the extensive and intriguing Icelandic Wilderness.
Active experiences are an integral part of this tour. Riding the Icelandic horse is a nature experience no one should miss out on. And to cross a glacier river in a cableway cart is a unique activity rooted in local history and tradition.
We will stop and visit our neighbour who has the last farm in Iceland to keep all their sheep in traditional hoses of turf and stone to this day. After, we visit the Vatnajökull National park exhibition where you will learn about the environment and the nature of this highland national park.
We also take a hike up towards the waterfalls Hengifoss and Litlanesfoss. It is a fairly easy walk and very rewarding. Besides the stunning waterfalls, we will also have a fabulous view over the surrounding valley.
Make the most of your time in Iceland and book an authentic experience at the edge of Northern Europ's most extensive wilderness. Check availability by choosing a date.
Included
Activities
Daily itinerary
Day 1 - To the Mountains
At the beginning of the tour, we will drive through mountainous scenery and along lake Lagarfljót, the home of a famous underwater monster. Along the way, your local guide will tell you the mystical stories of the lake and its inhabitant.
Once at the Wilderness Center, the guide will take you through the unique museum, designed by collaborating artists, filmmakers, and historians. Afterwards, we will enjoy a lunch made primarily with local ingredients at the Center's homestyle kitchen.
Your local guide will take you to an abandoned farm, with its picturesque views, stories, and traces of the past. Further upstream there is a series of waterfalls dropping from the highland plateau. Adventurous travellers will also have a chance to cross the glacial river in a renovated, traditional cableway trolley.
After light refreshments served the Center's cosy kitchen, you will be introduced to the “most trusted servant”—the incredible Icelandic horse— for a fun ride along the valley. It's a once-in-a-lifetime experience!
Before dinner, we visit a traditional food-smoking hut made of turf for an appetizer. There, we can taste some local meat and learn about Icelandic food traditions through the centuries.
Experience an Icelandic wilderness dinner with ingredients from the highlands, prepared by the residents in the cosy, open kitchen.
Day 2 - To the Valleys
The day begins with breakfast at the Wilderness Center. Afterwards, we go scouting for reindeer and make photo stops as we drive onto the highland plateau surrounding Mt. Snæfell. At the impressive Hafrahvammagljúfur canyon, we enjoy our pre-packed lunch and bathe in the natural hot springs next to Laugarfell mountain.
As we head once more for the valley, we encounter our last destination, Hengifoss waterfall, one of Iceland's tallest waterfalls; it falls 128 meters off the plateau into a magnificent gorge. The steep, colourful cliffs around it display lava layers from volcanic eruptions in the Tertiary Period, the time when Iceland rose from the sea.
It takes 40-60 minutes to walk from the parking to the viewpoint below the waterfall. On the way, you might also come to love the photogenic Litlanesfoss waterfall. It is framed by exceptionally tall basalt columns. At last, the guides take back to the town of Egilsstaðir. Once there, you can grab a bite if you wish and look around town, before flying back to Reykjavik.
What to bring
Good to know
Tour is available on other days upon request. There will be a maximum of 16 guests on this tour. For guaranteed departure, a minimum of two persons need to be signed up, or a single traveller to pay twice the individual rate.
Accommodations can be upgraded, and additional nights before and/or after the tour accommodated, along with added days and activities of your choice. Please get in touch by clicking 'Inquire about this tour' to get more information.
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