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Ask the tourist office about local horse riding.

Sleeping & Eating

Campsite ( 487 8078, 895 9160; www.hvolsvollur.is, in Icelandic; sites per person Ikr850; Jun-Aug) There’s a site opposite the Shell station on Austurvegur; pay for your pitch at the tourist office.

Ásgarður ( 487 1440; www.asgardurinn.is; Stórólfshvol; sb/s/d Ikr3500/4500/8000) Accommodation here is in trim one- or two-bed rooms inside small wooden cabins in a peaceful garden. All have a shower room, fridge and kettle. You can hire the whole cabin or individual rooms, and use your own sleeping-bag for a reduced rate. There’s also a full kitchen and a lounge in the main building. Ásgarður is 500m off the Ring Road, signposted up Rte 261.

Vestri-Garðsauki ( 487 8078; www.gardsauki.is; s/d Ikr5000/8000) This summer guest house just off Rte 1 is run by a friendly Icelandic-German farming family. The four neat, plain rooms are all in the basement but are surprisingly bright; they share two bathrooms. There’s also a kitchen for guest use. Breakfast can be ordered for Ikr800.

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NJÁL’S SAGA

One of Iceland’s best-loved sagas deals with two friends, Gunnar Hámundarson and Njál Þorgeirsson, destined by fate to become bitter enemies. A petty squabble between their wives kicks off a bloodthirsty feud, which escalates until practically everyone in the saga is dead. Written in the 13th century, it recounts 11th-century events that took place in the hills around Hvolsvöllur.

The saga’s doomed hero is Gunnar of Hlíðarendi (near Fljótsdalur), who falls for and marries the beautiful, hot-tempered Hallgerður, who has long legs but – ominously – a ‘thief’s eyes’. Hallgerður has a falling-out with Bergþóra, wife of Njál. Things become increasingly strained between Gunnar and Njál as Hallgerður and Bergþóra begin murdering each other’s servants.

In one important episode, Hallgerður sends a servant to burgle food from a man named Otkell. When Gunnar comes home and sees Hallgerður’s stolen feast, his temper snaps. ‘It’s bad news indeed if I’ve become a thief’s accomplice’, he says, and slaps his wife – an act that later comes back to haunt him.

Through more unfortunate circumstances, Gunnar ends up killing Otkell and is eventually outlawed and sentenced to exile. As he rides away from home, his horse stumbles. Fatally, he takes one last glance back at his beloved farm Hlíðarendi and is unable to leave the valley. His enemies gather their forces and lay siege to the farm, but Gunnar manages to hold off the attackers until his bowstring breaks. When he asks Hallgerður for a lock of her hair to repair it, she refuses, reminding him of the slap she received years earlier – and Gunnar is killed.

The feud continues as Gunnar and Njál’s clan members try to avenge their slaughtered kin. Njál himself acts as a peace broker, forming treaties between the two families, but in the end it all comes to nothing. Njál and his wife are besieged in their farm. Tucking themselves up in bed with their little grandson between them, the couple allow themselves to be burnt alive.

The only survivor of the fire is Njál’s son-in-law Kári, who launches a legal case against the arsonists, commits a bit of extrajudicial killing himself and is finally reconciled with his arch-enemy, Flosi, who ordered the burning of the Njál family. The story is incredibly convoluted and it can be hard to keep track of who is murdering whom, but it’s certainly epic.

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Hótel Hvolsvöllur ( 487 8050; www.hotelhvolsvollur.is; Hlíðarvegur 7; s/d Ikr14,400/18,200; ) This large business-class hotel has 54 comfortable, green-shaded rooms. Twenty-six of these are new: although they’re smaller than the older rooms, their deep turquoise carpets and dark-wood fittings give them a smarter air. The bar-restaurant, which specialises in fish dishes, is open for dinner year-round; there are also two rooftop hot tubs.

Gallerí Pizza ( 487 8440; Hvolsvegur 29; meals Ikr1300-2300; noon-9pm Sun-Thu, noon-10pm