Thórsmörk and the Tindfjöll Hiking Trail
That day, we planned to head to the Thórsmörk area, which we had fallen in love with after a visit a few years earlier. Much like our first visit, we chose to leave the Duster parked at the guesthouse as the vehicle clearly wasn’t suited for crossing the infamously deep rivers at the end of the F249.
We booked a tour to Thórsmörk with Reykjavik Excursions, and the bus picked us up at 8:20 AM in Hella, with a return scheduled around 4:30 PM.
We could have taken the bus all the way to Langidalur, which was the actual starting point for the hike we had planned, but the bus first stopped at Húsadalur. Given the distance (2 km on foot) between the two campsites, we decided to walk to Langidalur which saved us a lot of time.
The Tindfjöll Circle Hike
The 20-minute walk from Húsadalur to Langidalur was a breeze and we arrived in great spirits at the Tindfjöll Circle hike starting point, just below the Langidalur cabin, around 11 AM. We took off towards the meandering Krossa River following a well-marked path lined with orange stakes.
The 9.5 km trail was a loop that started and ended at Langidalur. The only question was whether to start with the ascent through the woods, or the plains on the banks of the Krossa river. We opted for the first option through the woods.
The ascent was gentle, the views of the surrounding mountains simply stunning on such a clear day. Some sections were a bit slippery, so we took the time and moved cautiously to get to the Tröllakirkja cave site.
The first three kilometers cut across the mountain slopes and led to a plateau with breathtaking views of the Myrdalsjökull and Katla glaciers.
A final, steeper ascent took us to an even more spectacular viewpoint. This higher plateau looked out over the wide open plains, the Krossa river, and the famous Eyjafjallajökull volcano in the background.
The panorama was simply incredible, so we sat down for a picnic before beginning the descent down the other side. The second part was easier than we expected, a gentle downhill walk to the stone fields near the river.
The end of the hike was less interesting, the last two kilometers before reaching Langidalur, as we had seen them before on the way up.
We could have waited at Langidalur to catch the bus but instead decided to walk the two kilometers to the next stop: Volcano Huts (Húsadalur).
In total, we hiked exactly 13 km that day, but this trail was absolutely stunning. We got back to our beds tired indeed, but with memories that would last a lifetime.
