I am excited about having the family-run adventure company Fjallhalla as a partner. They are a family-run adventure company which focuses on high-quality small group Golden Circle hiking tours. Their top-rated hiking tours are now exclusively available to the Stuck in Iceland community at a generous 15% discount. Use the promo code FJA20 when you book one of Fjallhalla’s epic hiking tours, featuring hiking trails in Iceland. Stuck in Iceland Travel Magazine only works with the best tour providers in Iceland. Just check out the reviews for Fjallhalla on Tripadvisor and Facebook.
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Available hiking trails in Iceland with Fjallhalla Adventures
Bjarnarfell hike
Bjarnarfell is a 750m high mountain right at the doorstep of Langjökull glacier and Jarlhettur. You can ascend it with Fjallhalla.
Book the Bjarnafell hiking tour
Vörðufell hike
This impressive hill is above the ancient diocese of Skálholt, and the view up there is awe-inspiring.
Book the Vörðufell hiking tour
Högnhöfði hike
Högnhöfði is a majestic mountain in the Golden Circle route. Reaching up 1002 m, it is quite the challenge.
Book the Högnhöfði hiking tour
Reykjadalur Valley Hike
In this valley is a hot spring where you can dip in and just enjoy the unspoiled nature landscape right in front of you. Reykjadalur is a spectacular place next to the village of Hveragerdi. It is also considered as a hidden gem of the south.
Book the Reykjadalur Valley hiking tour
Midnight Sun Hike
Between May 15th and July 15th roughly, the sun in Iceland doesn’t set, and it never really gets dark. Sure, it gets a bit darker, but there is no direct sunlight. What you end up is this wonderful glow; that lights up the sky. It’s the alluring midnight sun.
Book the midnight sun hiking tour
Skarðsheiði Hike
When driving to the north of Iceland from Reykjavik you see a lot of beautiful glacier-shaped mountains along the way. We offer a hike to one of those peaks, Skarðshyrna. The hike takes you through a valley, ending at the peak of Skarðshyrna with the view on the picture seen above.
Book the Skarðsheiði hiking trail tour
Fimmvörðuháls hiking trail
The legendary 25KM hiking trail of Fimmvörðuháls takes you from Skógar on the south coast of Iceland and between the glaciers Eyjafjallajökull and Mýrdalsjökull to the beautiful Þórsmörk. This route should be on the bucket list of any serious hiker.
Meet the founder of Fjallhalla
Erla Thordis is founder and owner of Fjallhalla. She is a certified hiking-guide who lives in the hamlet of Reykholt on the Golden Circle. She is one of those entrepreneurs in the Icelandic travel industry I love to work with. Her guests experience the serenity and beauty of Iceland on Golden Circle hiking trails. As she told me, being alone in nature is becoming such a rare and precious thing. That is what she wants to deliver to her guests.
Hey Erla Thordis, thank you for partnering with Stuck in Iceland Travel Magazine. Can you please tell me about why you founded Fjallhalla back in 2014?
Oh yes. A quite funny story actually. I have always loved hiking, and luckily I have parents that share that interest and they took me on a lot of hiking trips when I was younger. My mother started this project called ’52 mountains in one year’. She brought me into the project, and I got hooked! We hiked just about one mountain per week, how amazing and cool! This is something I still want to do today. I miss the group that encouraged us to go every week, so I try to hike smaller mountains here in the Reykholt are instead.
Hiking in every type of weather
We hiked in any weather possible. We learned not to be bothered about the weather. Just let your dress and gear match the weather. We realized that the weather in Iceland is excellent to test your equipment. If it holds 20m/s and heavy rain coming at you from every direction, it will work everywhere else! Icelanders hardly ever use umbrellas for a reason.
Affordable hiking adventures in Iceland
The chairman of my university union saw my hiking photos on Facebook. She asked me if I would be interested in leading the outdoor club of the association. I said YES! That was the beginning of my journey. I loved organizing events and meeting all these awesome people. When I graduated, I started a company, and in the beginning, my customers were mostly exchange students. That has changed since Fjallhalla was founded. My purpose with Fjallhalla was to create affordable trips that would enable people to travel and hike with like-minded people. I had just as much fun as the travellers, so I named the company Fjallhalla AdventurERS.
You have epic tours based on hiking trails in Iceland, can you tell me what guests can expect?
We bring our guests to a mountain that will suit them unless they ask for a hike to the highest peak. We show you where to walk, remind you to take many breaks, stop for photos and close your eyes and listen to the silence. Enjoy the solitude in nature, enjoy the ever-changing weather, enjoy the ever-changing terrain. We teach you how to step on the moss, and we show you that it is OK to just to lie down and enjoy the moment.
Celebration at the top
We encourage you when you are out of breath, and we offer you local delicacies. There is always a celebration when we reach the “varða” (cairn) on the top. Take a look around and enjoy the view. We teach you the names of the mountains in the landscape. Enjoy being one with nature in the silence. There is no pollution, and you exercise which will give your body happiness-inducing endorphin and dopamine. We guarantee you some happy sore muscles when you wake up the next day! We always end our tours with some stretching and yoga.
Can people bring their kids on your hiking trips?
YES! Even before they start walking, is it a privilege for them to get to know how to spend quality time in nature with family and friends. This is why I have the trips for free for kids younger than 12. After all, they belong in nature. It is where all of us belong, we have been separated too much from the natural environment by industrialization. I encourage people to take their kids, family and including dogs for a hiking tour. Bring a backpack with snacks and drinks! The kids will remember this adventure for a lifetime and hopefully get hooked! You might get surprised to see how quickly the kids move and seem to know their way around the mountain and stop to explore, climb, roll and jump!
What is the best way for your guests to prepare for tours on Golden Circle hiking trails?
Maybe go on long walks or run. You will always enjoy the hike better if in good physical and mental shape. Bring with you some snack that you might like to eat during the tour. We bring some local delicacies, but it is not guaranteed that you will like it. Bring something to eat because you will need the energy. One of the pros of hiking is that you can actually bring all the chocolate that you want. Visualize being in nature training your body while breathing in the absolutely very fresh air and drinking clean mountain water.
How to dress for a hike in Iceland
Do not wear cotton and no jeans. Wool is the best you can wear in Icelandic conditions, no matter which season. If summer and warm, you can wear wool and then a waterproof jacket on top! Sneakers are never a good idea. You might ruin them in the rough terrain. Use waterproof boots that have a hard sole and excellent grip. It is never a good idea to go in long hikes in boots which have not been broken in.
What advice do you have for people who are hiking in Iceland for the first time?
Have the right mindset. Embrace the ever-changing weather. You will be thrilled when the sun finally shows up, and you can feel its warmth. Dress appropriately, it will make you enjoy the weather. Bring enough snacks to enjoy and water, although you might find a river along the way where you can have a sip of water. Bring your camera, cause you will be having the “wow” feeling all along the trip. Enjoy just sitting down, with no one else around you, and listen to nature. We rarely get the change these days. Watch animals roam around freely.
Do you have a favourite Iceland hiking trail?
I have many favourite hiking trails. There are still so many trails I would love to explore in the highland interior of Iceland. No wonder I have hardly hiked abroad, Iceland keeps me so busy! I love my little mountains here because I know it is almost guaranteed that I will be alone with myself or my group. It is the me-time I need to recharge from my jobs as a guide and a kindergarten teacher. When you hike the Golden Circle trails, and you meet someone, you are surprised and start chatting to a perfect stranger. I often give advice about the conditions ahead. We are fortunate to have all these mountains all around Iceland. Every time we travel around the island, we plan to do some hikes where we stop.
All Iceland has its special kind of charm
I have no favourite part of Iceland. They all have their charm to it. I am lucky to have hiked many parts of the island. I explored Kringisárranni just the weekend the area was flooded to the create the dam for the Kárahnjúkavirkjun hydroelectric power plant.
Hiking in Hornstrandir nature reserve
I have hiked in Hornstrandir in the Westfjords of Iceland. This area defies description. It is protected, so no sheep or horses roam around which makes the vegetation untouched and unique. There are no roads and helicopters are banned. You access the area by boat from Isafjörður. You are “stuck” there with your tent and group until the boat arrives a few days later.
Digital detox
There is limited phone connection and NO internet connection. So if you feel like taking a break from the internet, this is the place to be. A very healthy detox. It took me a day to adjust to it. We could fish for some trout in a river, some men in the group brought fishing gear with them and then the only spice we brought with us was sugar. So we ate trout with delicious sugar! But beware! Polar Bears can show up at Hornstrandir although that is rare.
What is your favourite Golden Circle hiking trail?
My favourite hiking trails on the Golden Circle are Bjarnafell or Högnhöfði. Vörðufell is always a great hike. I got engaged on Bjarnafell, so it is very special to me. Högnhöfði is challenging so we hike it just a few times a year. Vörðufell is much smaller but easy to do in one hour, always a challenge though. I have many favourites. The views from the top are never the same. I have no favourite season because they all have their charm to it. Winter is no obstacle. It can be more challenging, but everything is beautiful and amazing when you are at the top of the world. Just dress according to weather and enjoy, your mind will bring you to the top, you can do so much more that you think!
Stay safe when hiking in Iceland
Study the Safetravel website and follow the advice there. Dress properly and be prepared for every kind of weather. Always be aware of the weather forecast.
Terms and conditions
The promo code is valid until 31st of December 2020. Please note that you are booking a tour with Fjallhalla and their terms and conditions apply
