The west coast - The Rough Guide to Iceland - page 154

Langjökull (Long Glacier). Covering 950 square kilometres, Langjökull resembles a
narrow protruding finger wedged between the Hallmundarhraun lavafield and the
Kjölur Interior route (see p.310) - you'll pass its foothills on both the Kjölur Interior
route and when tackling the Kaldidalur route (see box, p.157).

Varmaland and around
Between Borgarnes and Brú, a distance of 85km along the Ringroad, there is little
to detain you. However, if you fancy a spot of hiking amid lavafields or lush river
valleys or scaling a couple of extinct volcanic craters before hitting the north coast,
there are a couple of diversions worthy of your attention. The first is the village of
VARMALAND , a small and uneventful place northwest of Reykholt popular with
holidaying Icelanders. Other than its geothermally heated swimming pool and the
market-gardening centre, Laugaland, where mushroom production began in
Iceland, there's little to the place, but it is the starting point of a decent hike to
Bifröst (see box below).

3

ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE VARMALAND
By bus Buses from Reykholt to Borgarnes (1 on Fri & Sun) pass through the village as they do a loop from Borgarnes.

ACCOMMODATION
Gistiheimilið T 430 1516, E [e-mail]. Only
worth considering if you're stuck in Varmaland, the
somewhat spartan and unadorned accommodation in this
guesthouse con sists of sleeping-bag-only doubles with
shared facilties. 1800kr

Varmaland campsite Stafholtstungur T 430 1520,
E [e-mail]. A small and compact
campsite close to the main road, with hot and cold
running water a nd a children's playground. Closed
Oct-May. 1000kr

Bifröst
Around 30km northeast of Borgarnes, the minuscule settlement of BIFRÖST amounts
to little more than a filling station on the Ringroad. A couple of kilometres to the
south and spread either side of the Ringroad, you'll find the heather-encrusted
Grábrókarhraun lavafield, formed three thousand years ago when lava spewed from
three craters on the north side of the main road: Grábrók, Grábrókafell and a third
cone that has now been dug up to provide gravel for road building. Otherwise, the
forested shores of Hreðavatn , 1km southwest of Bifröst, make for a pleasant stroll and a
picnic if the weather's playing along; there's also trout fishing here. Look out for plant
fossils in the rocks around the lake.

HIKING FROM VARMALAND TO BIFRÖST
The 13km day-hike to Bifröst follows one of the country's best salmon rivers: the
Norðurá . Originating high on the moors of Holtavörðuheiði south of Brú, the river flows
southwest to meet up with western Iceland's biggest river, the glacial Hvítá, at the head of
Borgarfjörður where it finally empties into the sea. From Varmaland, you follow the river
upstream: head north along Route 527 to Einifell farm, where the road downgrades into a
jeep track as it heads to a T-junction west of Höll farm. From here, head west around the
foot of Hallarmúli hill (260m) towards the Laxfoss waterfalls in the Norðurá. Continue
past the abandoned farm, Veiðilækur, on to the farmstead at Svartagil and the Glanni
waterfalls . Here you pick up Route 528 and fork left, crossing the Norðurá and Bjarnardalsá
rivers, over the Grábrókarhraun lavafield (see above) to join the Ringroad a kilometre or
so east of Bifröst.