A natural gem in West Iceland
Húsafell is a tiny village surrounded by glaciers, ample hiking opportunities, and miles of lava fields. You can visit two beautiful waterfalls, check out some lava caves in nearby Reykholt or explore the Into the Glacier ice tunnel.
Close to Húsafell is the beautiful Hraunfossar waterfall, a fascinating series of waterfalls seemingly originating in a field without a river or lake. The water is actually streaming through rivulets in the Hallmundarhraun lava field. The detour from the Ring Road takes about two to three hours, depending on how long you stop at each place.
Another waterfall beside Hraunfossar is Barnafoss, which is more like a series of rapids caused by the water of Hvitá entering a narrow passage. Barnafoss means “Child Falls” and legend has it that one day two boys were left home while their parents went to church, but they got bored and decide to follow. When taking a shortcut, the two boys tried crossing the falls over a natural stone bridge but fell in and drowned. The mother of the boys cursed the bridge and shortly after it was destroyed by an earthquake.
For those looking for a little adventure when visiting Húsafell, Into the Glacier offers day tours to the world’s largest man-made ice cave. A super-truck picks up visitors close to Hotel Husafell for a journey that will leave many breathless as they traverse the glacier to the base camp, which takes 25 minutes. The cave itself is an engineering feat where visitors are treated to views of crevices and the smooth ice walls. LED lighting embedded in the walls lights the ice nicely, and benches are scattered throughout the tunnel.
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