A Day Tour provided by The Museum of Icelandic Sorcery & Witchcraft
When: Every day on request (summer and winter)
Duration: 9:00 - 19:00
Included: Admission to three museums, guide in English, mini-bus, admission to geothermal swimming pool, lunch-pack.
Price: Depents on number of participants. (See table below.)
Pickup at your accommodation in Reykjavík the day before departure and your accommodation in Hólmavík the day after: 69.000 ISK. (Total 1-4 persons)
The Strandir area is on the east side of the Westfjords, 233 km north of Reykjavík. The main town in Strandir is Hólmavík with inhabitants of approx. 400 people. The Strandir has always been a remote area in the country and has therefore been thought to be a rather mystical area with an odd atmosphere. In the mind of Icelanders throughout history the people of the Strandir have always thought to have more knowledge of sorcery than in other areas of the country. Strandir are rich of folklore, there are tales of magic, trolls and the hidden people in almost every step, and the driftwood by the seashore has also made an impact to the tales.
The tour starts at the Museum of Sorcery & Witchcraft in Hólmavík with a guidance through the museum where you will get to know different kind of Icelandic folklore. Stories of magic, ghosts, “tilberi”, the hidden people and the use of necropants. After a visit to the museum we drive to Kollafjörður to meet two of the trolls that tried to seperate the Westfjords from the mainland. We stop at the Sheep Farming Museum before we drive around the fjord Steingrímsfjörður to the other village by the fjord, Drangsnes, with short stopovers for tales here and there. In Drangsnes stands “Kerlingin”, the third night-troll that competed with the ones we met before in Kollafjörður.
We will continue our trip to Bjarnarfjörður and make a stop in one of the most majestic driftwood shores in Strandir which keep quite many tales and histories. We will drive to the canyon “Hallardalsgil” in Bjarnarfjörður where the waterfall “Goðafoss” (The Waterfall Of The Old Gods) falls down into. We will soon arrive to The Sorcerers Cottage, the second part of The Museum of Sorcery & Witchcraft. after the visit to the cottage will swim and bath in a geothermal swimming pool and natural hot spring.
We will head over the mountain-pass “Bjarnarfjarðarháls” after we have stopped at “Svanshóll” to witness the place where the sorcerer Svanur in Svanshóll (who appears in Njáls saga) used to walk underneath the mountains to go fishing up in the north. Up on Bjarnarfjarðarháls we will stand at the place where the story of Selkolla started and follow her steps for a while before we head back to Hólmavík.
Warm clothes, good footwear, swimwear and a towel is the key to enjoy this tour.
Price Table pr. person
1 pers.- 20.000 ISK
2 pers. - 18.000 ISK
3 pers. - 16.000 ISK
4 pers. and up - 14.000 ISK
RECOMMENDED OVERNIGHT:
Kirkjuból (10 km south of Hólmavík):
www.strandir.is/kirkjubol
Single rooms with breakfast
Double rooms with breakfast
Steinhúsið (Hólmavík):
www.steinhusid.is
Single rooms without breakfast:
Double rooms without breakfast
Scheduled bus: Reykjavík - Hólmavík - Reykjavík
Fridays and Sundays in winter.
Tuesdays, Fridays and sundays in summer.
One way price: 5,350 ISK pr. person by Strætó bus.
For further information contact info@holmavik.is
