Húsafell, Iceland’s hidden gem
Leaving the capital city early in the morning was hard, but it proved to be rewarding. It had been very cold the night before so it was still frosty, but the skies were clear and the sun was out.
The road to Húsafell was the most beautiful I’ve ever driven. At this time of the year, the sunlight in Iceland acts like sunset or sunrise for pretty much the whole day. If you are as lucky as I was you won’t be a victim of the cloudy veil that covers the country most days and you too will fall in love with western Iceland.
Almost two hours after leaving Reykjavík we meet our tour guide. Olgeir Helgi is quite the storyteller so the ride to the Canyon Baths became a historical journey. Húsafell has belonged to the same family for 7 generations, it’s self-sufficient regarding hot and cold water as well as electricity and was built on a dream.
This dream belonged to Kristleifur, a farmer whose business skills didn’t cease to amaze. The story goes that he wanted to make the area a better place for the community to get together and have fun so he organized a festival. By the end of said festival, he gathered all the money made (which was a lot) put it inside bags, and carried them to the bank. Since it was late and the bank was closed, Kristleifur left the bags near the entrance and went home to rest for the night. Morning came and so did a call from the bank asking if the bags were his. Our guide described him as very calm, so that’s how he is imagined answering this call. He said that the bags were his, but it wasn’t his job to count the money, it was the bankers’. And that was just the result of the first of many festivals.
By the end of the story, we got to our second destination. We got off the car and as we walked through the path I see two big white fluffs and when I gasped in admiration for the these lovely animals, off they ran down the mountain. Well, it is a farmers land, I just never imagined I’d see sheep wandering so close to a waterfall - in Iceland, waterfalls are usually full of tourists.
Story goes that who lives on the top side of the waterfall calls it “ The tall river” and who lives on the bottom side calls it “The long river” but I’ll leave this one nameless so you, reader, can too wonder and find it yourself.
The Canyon baths are situated in a valley of Basalt mountains which limits the sunlight for most of the day. The baths consist of two circular man-made pods where the floors are made of lava and the water is hot at just the right temperature. Note that everything that was added to this valley can be removed without damaging the original landscape. That’s how much the locals respect this land. Hopefully, you will share the same respect when you visit this hidden gem.
After lunch, we decided to explore the area a bit more. Two minutes away from Hotel Húsfell there’s a local exhibition of stones carved by local sculptor, Páll Guðmundsson. Not all of them are obvious so you will still be surprised every other look when seeing a new face lurking from the landscape.
A bit further away from the hotel lies another hidden beauty: Hraunfossar on the way to Barnafoss. These two waterfalls flow over lava fields and belong to the same river: Hvítá or “White River“.
Although small, Hraunfossar has a privileged viewpoint for visitors since it allows people to see it from above. Upstream and a few steps away there’s Barnafoss, “Children’s waterfall“.
According to an old Saga, two young boys were victims of this river rapids after falling from a stone bridge. Their parent’s sadness echoed and the fatal bridge caved in after an earthquake. So the name stayed either as a warning or a memoir of losing their only two children. This is if you believe the saga to be truthful. It wasn’t uncommon to share tales like these not as entertainment but as prevention so that the little ones who’d listen would stay away from the dangerous rapids.
Barnafoss
Our day ended early since we still had the drive back to Reykjavík. But I am sure to be back and enjoy some more of this gorgeous area as I was definitely left craving some more from Húsafell.
