View from Valahnúkur Mountain viewpoint - Laugavegur Trail - Icelandic Highlands

Trekking Iceland – Laugavegur Trail – Þórsmörk Valley

Day 5 saw us saying “goodbye” to our 3 Korean trekking companions and swapping them for 3 New Zealanders!  This was to take place at the Volcanic Huts at Húsadalur, and we set out under heavy grey skies to make the exchange.

Above huts at Þórsmörk - Laugavegur Trail - Icelandic Highlands
View of the Þórsmörk hut as we climbed Valahnúkur mountain

Along the way, we stopped off at the magnificent viewpoint of Valahnúkur mountain, with it’s panoramic view of the entire Þórsmörk area. 

Panorama from Valahnúkur Mountain viewpoint - Laugavegur Trail - Icelandic Highlands

[move mouse over image to see full panorama]

Even under fairly terrible conditions – it was absolutely beautiful.  I can only imagine what it must be like with a clear view to the horizon!

Views from Valahnúkur Mountain viewpoint - Laugavegur Trail - Icelandic Highlands
Views from Valahnúkur Mountain

Oh how I wish I’d known about this spot yesterday afternoon and came up here for the sunset!

After about half an hour, we hiked  down the other side of the mountain and squeezed our way into Sönghellir cave (“Song cave”)

The Sönghellir Cave (Song Cave) in Þórsmörk - Laugavegur Trail - Icelandic Highlands
Making our way into Sönghellir Cave (Song Cave)

where Sigþór sang us some Icelandic songs

[KGVID]http://lisagermany.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Sigthor-singing.mp4[/KGVID]

before making our way to the bus stop to await our new friends.

Given this was a “rest day”, we had the option after lunch of going for another short hike or staying and chilling out at the hut.  Our new trekking companions were keen to get hiking and the sun had once again come out, so Alexi, Anja, Peggy and myself decided to join Fiona, John, Andrew and Sigþór to further explore the Þórsmörk Valley.

I’m so glad I did!

It was only a couple of hours, but there were really amazing views as we hiked along the river and then up onto a ridge through the Arctic Birch forest.

Hiking in Þórsmörk valley - Laugavegur Trail - Icelandic Highlands

An added bonus was that Sigþór told us another of his Icelandic stories – this time about the “hidden people”, something I’d also heard about on the Reykjavik Folklore Tour.

SigÞor telling folk tales in Þórsmörk valley - Laugavegur Trail - Icelandic Highlands
Sigþór telling us about Iceland’s “Hidden People”

We returned to the hut to find the others basking in the sunshine and, you guessed it, sat around drinking tea and coffee, eating biscuits and cake, and chatting endlessly until dinner.  So much fun 🙂

Trekking Information

Distance = 4.41km + 6.26km

Time taken = ~2hr + ~2hr

Strava Links

Map

Basic Map of hikes around Þórsmörk valley - Laugavegur Fimmvörðuháls Combo Trek - from Strava

Altitude Profile

Altitude profile of hikes around Þórsmörk valley - Laugavegur Fimmvörðuháls Combo Trek - from Strava

Read more about hiking the Laugavegur Trail

If this post has piqued your curiosity, read about the rest of the 7-day Laugavegur & Fimmvörðuháls Combo Tour with Icelandic Mountain Guides

Alternatively, check out my other posts about hiking and trekking in Iceland and around the world.

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