Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
WORTH A TRIP
HÚSEY
Húsey HI Hostel
( 471 3010;
www.husey.de
;dm/d without bathroom Ikr4030/9600) Reaching
Húsey involves a long but scenic drive, 30km off the Ring Road along the rough, unsealed
Rtes 925 and 926 beside the Jökulsá á Dal river (all up, about 60km from Egilsstaðir).
The only reason to venture out to this isolated farm is a good one: to stay at the simple,
rustic Húsey hostel.
There are horses to ride (two-hour seal-watching tours on horseback start at 10am and
5pm daily; Ikr6200), birdwatching trails to follow, and seals cavorting in the riverine back-
drop. It's worth staying a few days to enjoy the homey atmosphere; longer horse treks are
easily arranged. The hostel has cooking facilities, but there's nowhere to buy food, so
bring supplies. Breakfast can be ordered (Ikr1860); linen hire costs Ikr1100. Book ahead,
and ask about pick-up options if you don't have your own vehicle.
Lagarfljót
The grey-brown waters of the river-lake Lagarfljót are reputed to harbour a fearsome mon-
ster,
Lagarfljótsormur
, which has allegedly been spotted since Viking times. The most
recent 'sighting' of the serpentine beast (also called the Worm/Wyrm) caused quite a stir -
in 2012 a local farmer released footage of a large creature moving in the river. The clip has
attracted close to five million hits on YouTube, and garnered international news coverage.
Read more at
www.ormur.com
.
Real or imagined, the poor beast must be pretty chilly - Lagarfljót starts its journey in
the Vatnajökull ice cap and its glacial waters flow north to the Arctic Ocean, widening into
a 38km-long, 50m-deep lake, often called Lögurinn, south of Egilsstaðir.
Whether you see a monster or not, it's a lovely stretch of water to circumnavigate by
car. Rte 931, a mixture of sealed surfaces and gravel (gravel on the less-trafficked western
shore), turns off the Ring Road about 10km south of Egilsstaðir and runs around the lake
to Fellabær - a circuit of around 70km.
