Iceland (Lonely Planet, 7th Edition) - Fran Parnell [110]
Getting There & Away
BUS
Reykjavík Excursions ( 580 5400; www.re.is) run scheduled services from mid-June to mid-September. Buses run between Reykjavík and Húsadalur (over the hill from Þórsmörk) at 8.30am daily (Ikr5200, 3¼ hours), reaching Húsadalur around noon and returning at 4pm. From 15 June to 31 August, a second service runs daily from Reykjavík at 4pm; in the reverse direction, the extra bus leaves Þórsmörk at 8.30am.
From mid-June to mid-September, there’s a ‘sightseeing’ bus that runs at 1pm from Húsadalur to Básar, returning at 2pm.
Several companies run day trips from Reykjavík in summer for around Ikr14,000 – Click here.
CAR & BICYCLE
Even though Þórsmörk seems almost touchable from the Ring Road (only 30km along F249), you cannot drive there without a 4WD with decent clearance. The gravel road surface eventually turns into boulders, and even a 4WD car probably won’t make it over the bumps. Even experienced 4WD drivers sometimes get into difficulty at the river sections on this route.
Plenty of cyclists fight their way up to Þórsmörk, but it’s a hard slog. You can shave off a few kilometres by leaving Rte 1 near the farm Vorsabær and taking the old bridge over the Markarfljót, which is now closed to cars.
HIKING
You can walk to Þórsmörk from Land-mannalaugar (four days), Skógar (one or two days) or along Rtes 249 and F249 from Seljaland (one long day). The Skógar hike is covered in more detail on Click here, and the Landmannalaugar to Þórsmörk hike is covered in the boxed text.
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SKÓGAR & AROUND
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You begin to enter the south coast’s realm of ice at Skógar, which nestles under the Eyjafjallajökull ice cap about 1km off Rte 1. This tiny settlement offers two corking attractions. At its western edge, the dizzyingly high Skógafoss waterfall tumbles down a mossy cliff. On the eastern side you’ll find the fantastic folk museum, open year-round for your delectation.
The village is also the start – or the end – of the hike over the Fimmvörðuháls Pass to Þórsmörk (Click here).
At the time of writing, a small summer-only branch of the Icelandic Travel Market ( 894 2956; www.itm.is; 8.30am-6.30pm Jun-Aug) was operating from the Fossbúð restaurant building (next to the youth hostel).
Sights
The highlight of Skógar – indeed of this whole stretch of coast – is the wonderful Skógar Folk Museum ( 487 8845; www.skogasafn.is; adult/12-15yr Ikr1000/500; museum 9am-6.30pm Jun-Aug, 10am-5pm May & Sep, 11am-4pm Oct-May, cafe 10am-5pm Jun-Aug, 11am-4pm May & Sep), which covers all aspects of Icelandic life. The vast collection was put together by 88-year-old Þórður Tómasson, who has been amassing items for 74 years. You might be lucky enough to meet Þórður in person – he often comes in to play traditional songs for visitors on an old church organ. There are also various restored buildings (church, turf-roofed farmhouse, cowsheds etc) in the grounds, and a hangarlike building at the back houses an interesting transport museum, plus a cafe and souvenir shop.
The 62m-high waterfall of Skógafoss topples over a rocky cliff at the western edge of Skógar in dramatic style. Climb the steep staircase alongside for giddying views downwards; or walk to the foot of the falls, shrouded in sheets of mist and rainbows. Legend has it that a settler named Þrasi hid a chest of gold behind Skógafoss; sometimes you can almost see it glittering…
Activities
The most popular walk in the area is the two-day hike (Click here) over Fimmvörðuháls Pass to Þórsmörk. However, you can also take a morning hike up to the pass and return to Skógar the same day. The trail starts on the 4WD track to Skógarheiði behind the village. The return trip should take about seven hours. For the past two summers, a small shop has been operating