Around Iceland 2015: Hvolsvöllur

Iceland’s national newspaper Morgunblaðið is on a six-week 2015 tour of Iceland!

The paper’s journalists and photographers will be bringing us news and images of everyday life, culture, business, nature, education, services and more from the four corners of the land. Today’s destination: Hvolsvöllur.

Hvolsvöllur

Hvolsvöllur is a town of over 900 inhabitants in South Iceland. The town is the location for the Saga Centre, an interactive museum dedicated to the Icelandic sagas, one of the most famous of which – Njál's Saga – is set in the area.

Based in Hvolsvöllur, tour operator Southcoast Adventure organises varied and exciting jeep and snowmobile tours to Þórsmörk and up onto the Eyjafjallajökull glacier. January and March are apparently Southcoast Adventure’s busiest months.

Patrons of the Gamla fjósið restaurant at Hvassafell, to the east of Hvolsvöllur, were recently treated to the rare experience of trying fulmar, a species of sea bird. Once traditional in the area, this tasty – but apparently not very sweet-smelling – bird is now served up once a year at the restaurant.

Sisters Valborg and Hildur Jónsdóttir have opened a curious new shop in a former military Nissen hut in Hvolsvöllur. Named Sveitabúðin Unu , the shops sells handiwork, jewellery, postcards, pictures, food, and more – mostly from the local area.

In the nearby town of Hella, Ingi Hlynur Jónsson and Sigurborg Rútsdóttir run a horse-riding company with eighteen horses. The tours they organise are suitable for everybody from complete beginners to expert riders and take in some of the most beautiful landscape of the area.

Check out Iceland Monitor for Morgunblaðið ’s next destination in Around Iceland 2015: Vestmannaeyjar.