Day 1
Riding: 2 - 3 hours
Skrapatungurétt & Laufskálarétt Rides
You will be collected from pick up point at 8am in the morning. Please be ready at the earliest pick up time and be ready in your riding clothes. We drive up north with a bus to our starting point at farm Reynhólar. ( approx 3 hours drive).
After a short introduction we saddle up and ride into the highlands where we have a fantastic view to Eiríksjökull glacier in the south and the bay of Hrútafjörður in the North. We ride along lake Grensvatn and enjoy the peace and quiet of the higher grounds before turning back to our base at Reynhólar where we stay overnight in small cozy cottages each hosting 2-4 guests.
Víðidalstungurétt Ride
Þingeyrar: In the morning the group will be picked up by our private bus from BSI bus station downtown Reykjavík. After the busdrive up north (about 3 hours drive), the first ride is a short but nice ride with just 1 horse per person (no herd) along lake Húnavatn towards the shores of the North Atlantic ocean / Greenland sea. This ride is ideal to get used to the horses and the way of riding in Iceland before we ride a long day away from roads in the coming days.
Miðfjarðarrétt
Reykjavík – Reynhólar – Litli Hvammur 15-20 km 3-4 hours ride: In the morning we‘ll meet up at BSI Busstation in Reykjavík.
We‘ll drive to Reynhólar (approx 3 hours drive) farm. There we‘ll saddle up and ride along the river Miðfjarðará on soft riverbanks to the farm Litli Hvammur where we‘ll leave our horses behind and drive to our guesthouse for the night.
Day 2
Riding: 4 - 6 hours
Skrapatungurétt & Laufskálarétt Rides
Reynhólar – Stóra Ásgeirsá: We saddle up at Reynhólar and ride along river Miðfjarðará on soft river banks and cross Valley Línakradalur towards Víðidalur valley. Then along the riverbanks of Víðidalsá to farm Stóra Ásgeirsá. We ride for approx 4 to 5 hours today.
Víðidalstungurétt Ride
Þingeyrar – Stóra Ásgeirsá: We ride from the farm down to lake Hóp, but today we ride along the shores of the lake and have a beautiful view over the lake until we reach the river Víðidalsá which we follow upstream riding along the soft riverbanks. We’ll cross the river several times on our way to the farm Stóra Ásgeirsá where we‘ll leave the horses for the night. We ride for approx. 6 hours today.
Miðfjarðarrétt
Litli Hvammur – Arnarvatnsheiði – Miðfjarðarrétt. Approx 20 – 25 km 5-6 hours: We saddle up in the morning and ride up to Arnarvatnsheiði to meet up with the farmers. By then they‘ll already have spent several days riding around in the highlands collecting horses and sheep and will be waiting for us to join them driving the big herds the last part to the roundups (Around 400 horses and 2000 sheep).
Day 3
Riding: 5 - 6 hours
Skrapatungurétt & Laufskálarétt Rides
Stóra Ásgeirsá – Sveinsstaðir: Today we follow great trails along the riverbanks of Víðidalsá and at the shores of lake Hóp which is one of the biggest lakes in Iceland.
Víðidalstungurétt Ride
Stóra Ásgeirsá – Víðidalstungurétt: Today we enjoy the excitements of seeing the local farmers bringing their horses to the corral „Víðidalstungurétt“. We will ride with a big group of riders towards the gate from the mountains from where the farmers drive the big herd towards the corral. About 1000 young horses and mares with foals come together at the corral and it ́s an amazing sight to see this big herd running down from the mountains.
Miðfjarðarrétt
Sheep roundup. Miðfjarðarrétt- Reynhólar. Approx 25 km 5-6 hours: This day the farmers round up the sheep. We start spending some time watching the sheep roundups and then saddle up for a nice day in the valley. We follow the riverbanks of Miðfjarðará again back to Reynhólar and spend the afternoon with a single horse ride up to the hillsides of Reynhólar.
Day 4
Riding: 5 - 6 hours
Skrapatungurétt & Laufskálarétt Rides
Sveinsstaðir – Þingeyrar - Hóp: We’ll ride with our herd to the next farm; Þingeyrar, which is a historical place as the first monastery in Iceland was erected there. There’s a beautiful stone church close to where we’ll keep our horses. At the farm we’ll leave our herd and ride with 1 horse per person towards lake Hóp to cross this lake, which is one of the largest lakes in Iceland. This is truly an experience never to forget! Lake Hóp is for the most part of the crossing rather shallow, and on days with no/little wind it is as if one is riding over a mirror. At the other side we take a nice lunchbreak under a massive basalt-rock wall before heading back to the farm, crossing the lake once more.
Víðidalstungurétt Ride
Stóra Ásgeirsá - Reynhólar: In the morning we watch the farmers while they separate the horses at the corral. We start riding in the afternoon, cross the heathlands of Miðfjarðarháls and ride along the river Miðfjarðará to our destination at Reynhólar farm.
Miðfjarðarrétt
Horse roundups. Approx. 15 km ride (2-3 hours): Early morning the farmers start rounding up the horses. After all horses are sorted out we‘ll join the neighbour farmer of Reynhólar and help him taking his horses home.
Day 5
Riding: No riding.
Skrapatungurétt Ride Departure
Skrapatungurétt – Reykjavík: In the morning we visit the roundups for approx. 1 to 2 hours and watch the farmers separating their horses. Then we drive back to Reykjavík (approx 3 hours) where the tour ends at BSÍ bus station.
Laufskálarétt Ride
Today there is no riding, but we drive with the bus to a round pen where the farmers will arrive with the herd from the mountains to sort the horses to take them home to their own farms. We will spend good time to watch the sorting and getting emerged into this big annual tradition!
Víðidalstungurétt Ride Departure
After breakfast we drive back to Reykjavík (approx 3 hours) where the tour ends. Estimated arrival in Reykjavík around 13:00
Miðfjarðarrétt
Drive back to Reykjavík.
Day 6
Riding: No riding.
Laufskálarétt Ride Departure
After breakfast you will drive back to Reykjavík (approx 3 hours) for your onward journey.
Note: All programmes and itineraries are weather dependent; in the face of adverse, or unexpected, weather conditions reasonable attempts will be made to provide equivalent riding. All programmes are accurate at the time of writing. However, the team may adapt or modify details, whilst aiming to provide a similar experience.
