A ride along the ancient Sprengisandur highland route, with its fascinating and extreme contrasts in landscape, is a very special experience. You start in the south and ride through the landscape created by the Hekla volcano along Iceland's longest river, the Thjórsá. The overwhelming vastness of the highland desert between the Hofsjökull and Vatnajökull glaciers surrounds you on your way north. In the middle of the highlands, a warm spring in an oasis invites you to take a refreshing and relaxing bath. In northern Iceland, you will reach the inhabited areas again in the narrow mountain valleys in the inner part of Eyjafjördur. Around 300 km, 6 days of riding. Daily riding distances: 25 - 60 km.

On this riding tour, you can expect daily stages up to 9 hours! This ride is therefore the most physically demanding of all our Iceland riding tours. However, you will be rewarded with incredible distances covered in 8 days, giving you the opportunity to explore a large part of the wild interior of the island. Make yourself comfortable in the saddle of the sure-footed, lively Isis and enjoy the incredible diversity of Sprengisandur.

Itinerary

Day 1: Arrival and transfer to the stables, where you will be accommodated in guest houses. After dinner together, you will be given details about the next few days.

Day 2: You will travel by bus from Hveragerði to Fellsmúli farm in Landssveit. This is where our horseback tour begins. You will start by riding along a soft path through the forest near Skarfanes. Most of this day's stage runs along the Thjórsá (Iceland's longest river). You will pass the Thjófafoss waterfall and the striking Búrfell mountain, which was once home to giants and trolls. You will also pass the Tröllkonuhlaup. This is the place where the troll woman jumped across the river. Approx. 25 km, approx. 5 hours

Day 3: You continue riding north along the Thjórsá. The landscape becomes increasingly wild. You spend the night near Hrauneyjarfoss, one of the largest hydroelectric power stations in Iceland. Approx. 35 km, approx. 7 hours

Day 4: Today you ride from Hrauneyjarfoss to Versalir. Versalir is a rest area located at the entrance to Sprengisandur. It is known from the horse song Á Sprengisandi. On your way, you will see many mountains and also the two glaciers Vatnajökull and Hofsjökull. Approx. 50-60 km, approx. 9 hours.

Day 5: Today is another long day. The terrain is similar to the fourth day, but you will get closer to the glaciers and even ride between them. To the east rises Arnarfell, a green mountain and the geographical center of Iceland. You are now on the Sprengisandur and will pass a few dwellings of famous Icelandic outlaws, such as Fjalla-Eyvindur. Overnight stay in a large mountain hut in the Nýi Dalur valley. Approx. 60 km, approx. 10 hours.

Day 6: On the way from Nýi Dalur, you will ride over large sand dunes. You will have a majestic view of the northern Icelandic landscape. You will slowly leave Iceland's three largest glaciers behind you and spend the night in a mountain hut in Laugafell. There you can relax your muscles in a hot pool. Approx. 45 km, approx. 8 hours.

Day 7: You ride from Laugafell towards the Eyjafjördur fjord, where the greening nature with bushes and some forest begins to dominate the landscape. You have a beautiful view over Eyjafjördur and Akureyri. Your destination is Halldórsstadir farm in Eyjafjördur. From there, you will drive to the airport in Akureyri and fly to Reykjavik, where you will land at around 6:00 p.m. 35 km, approx. 6 hours.

The first tour starts in the south, the second in the north.

Subject to change!

Accomodation
On the first day, you will spend the night in the cozy guest house at Riding centre in 2- to 4-bed rooms. You will have dinner and breakfast in the beautiful hotel restaurant.

In the often very remote areas through which you will pass ,there are no hotels along the way. Some of the accommodation is in guesthouses with 4 to 6-bed rooms, but you will mostly be accommodated in dormitories or hikers' huts where all guests sleep together. Hot showers are usually available, but there may be times when accommodation only has washing facilities and toilets. Power sockets are also not available every night.

Saddle & Tack: Snaffle and Icelandic trekking saddles.

Experience: You should have ridden regularly for at least 5 years and be able to ride other horses in all gaits without instruction. A good level of fitness is required! The ride corresponds to an endurance ride.

Horses: You ride on robust, extremely sure-footed Icelandic horses that love to go. The riding pace is usually quite brisk at trot or tölt. Steeper sections require dismounting and leading. There are 2-3 riding horses available for each rider, which are coming along in a free-running herd.