Haukadalur in Dyrafjordur Travel Guide

Haukadalur valley in Dýrafjörður. Photo: Berserkur, CC BY-SA 4.0

Haukadalur (the name contains haukur, "hawk") is a short green valley on the south shore of Dýrafjörður in the Westfjords of Iceland, about 7 km by road west of the village of Þingeyri. It is best known as the main setting of Gísla saga Súrssonar, the Saga of Gísli the Outlaw, one of the great medieval Icelandic sagas.

Today a handful of farms and summer houses, a small theatre and a few saga sites stand where Gísli and his family lived in the 10th century. This is a different Haukadalur from the famous geothermal valley at Geysir in South Iceland.

Key Takeaways About Haukadalur í Dýrafirði

• Main setting of Gísla saga Súrssonar; saga sites Sæból, Hóll, Seftjörn and the burial mounds lie near the shore
• 7 km west of Þingeyri on gravel Route 622; a normal car can reach the valley in dry summer conditions
• Home of Kómedíuleikhúsið, the first and only professional theatre in the Westfjords (founded 1997)
• Private farmland: park by the road or theatre and keep to the road and tracks
• Not the geothermal Haukadalur at Geysir in South Iceland

Why visit Haukadalur

The valley runs almost straight from north to south for about 5 km and is around 700 m wide at the shore, narrowing inland. The Haukadalsá river rises in the mountains at its head and is joined 3 km from the sea by the Þverá from Lambadalur, a side valley.

The peaks at the head of the valley rise to 800 to 1,000 m, and among them stands Kaldbakur (998 m), the highest mountain in the Westfjords, though it is climbed from neighbouring valleys rather than from Haukadalur itself. Kolturshorn, an 865 m spire between Lambadalur and Koltursdalur, is the most striking peak seen from the valley floor.

Gísli slaying Þorgrímur at Sæból, 1866 illustration. Photo: Unknown artist, public domain

The saga is why most people come. Þorbjörn súr and his family sailed from Norway and brought their ship into the mouth of the Haukadalsá; according to the Book of Settlements the settler Vésteinn Végeirsson gave them half the valley, while the saga says they bought land at Sæból.

His children Gísli, Þorkell and Þórdís lived at Sæból; Gísli and Þorkell later built the farm Hóll a little further up the valley. The saga's chain of killings, oaths and betrayals, Þorgrímur goði's murder in his bed, Gísli's outlawry and his 13 years on the run, begins here.

The saga names six farms in the valley, none of which survived into modern times, and several places still carry their saga names: Seftjörn, the pond by the shore where young men held their games (now almost drained); Vésteinsholt, where Vésteinn is thought to have been buried in a mound.

And Árholt by the river mouth, where Þorgrímur goði was laid in a ship and covered with earth.

Ruins near Seftjörn, excavated in 1882 and 1888, were identified at the time as the hall, byre and temple of the old Sæból. The saga was filmed in 1981 as Útlaginn (Outlaw: The Saga of Gisli).

Haukadalur valley has a later history too. In the 19th century the sheltered bay of Haukadalsbót was a favoured anchorage for French fishing schooners, and a walled French sailors' cemetery stands by the road between Haukadalur and the next valley, Meðaldalur.

The valley became a licensed trading post in 1892, with a store, ice house and a small fishing village. The village emptied in the 1960s, but the old houses are kept up as summer homes.

The Kómedíuleikhúsið, the Westfjords' only professional theatre, founded in 1997, has its own small theatre building in the valley and is known for one-man plays about Westfjords history, including Gísli Súrsson (2005).

Its leading actor, Elfar Logi Hannesson, also styles himself Haukadalsgoði (chieftain of Haukadalur) and has given one-hour guided saga walks from the theatre in Icelandic and English; they are not always on the programme, so ask the theatre (komedia.is) before you travel.

How to get to Haukadalur

Haukadalur valley is on Route 622 (Svalvogavegur), the gravel road that runs west from Þingeyri along the south side of Dýrafjörður. From Þingeyri the drive is about 7 km and takes around 10 minutes; a normal car can reach Haukadalur in dry summer conditions, though it becomes a rough 4x4 track further west towards Svalvogar.

Þingeyri is reached on Route 60 from Ísafjörður via the Vestfjarðagöng tunnel, a drive of roughly 45 minutes, or from the south via the Dýrafjarðargöng tunnel from Arnarfjörður. From Reykjavík it is about 400 km by Route 1 and Route 60 through the Dýrafjarðargöng tunnel, a drive of six hours or more; alternatively fly to Ísafjörður and hire a car.

There is no formal car park; visitors park by the road or at the theatre. The saga sites are a short walk from the road near the shore. The valley is private farmland with no marked saga trail or information signs, so please keep to the road and tracks and ask before walking across fields.

Best time to visit

June to August is best, when Route 622 is clear and the theatre is most likely to have shows; check its programme. May and September are quiet and often fine, but services are limited. In winter the road along the fjord can be icy and the daylight short; the valley is visited then mainly by locals.

Safety and practical tips

• Route 622 beyond Haukadalur is one of the Westfjords' rougher roads, with a narrow shelf above the sea; do not continue towards Svalvogar without a 4x4 and a dry forecast.
• There are no shops, fuel or public toilets in the valley. Þingeyri has a petrol station, a café, a swimming pool and accommodation.
• Respect the farms: close gates, keep dogs on a lead during lambing and bird-nesting season in spring and early summer and do not disturb the historic mounds.
• Access to the valley is free. Theatre performances and saga walks, when offered, are ticketed; check the Kómedíuleikhúsið schedule in advance as dates vary.