The Snaefellsnes Peninsula

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Snaefellsnes is sometimes called Iceland in Miniature, because so many national sights can be found in the area, including the Snæfellsjökull volcano, regarded as one of the symbols of Iceland. With its height of 1446 m, it is the highest mountain on the peninsula and has a glacier capping it. The mountain is also known as the setting of the novel Journey to the Centre of the Earth by the French author Jules Verne. The area surrounding Snæfellsjökull has been designated one of the country’s three National Parks by the government of Iceland.

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Many claim that there is a mystical spiritual energy eminating from glacier. Who knows, maybe you will feel it too?

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One of the Viking Age people who lived in the area according to the Icelandic sagas was Gudrun Thorbjarnardottir, the mother of the first white child born in North-America and the most travelled woman of her time.

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On the peninsula are several small fishing villages. We will stop at two of them Arnarstapi and Hellnar, where you have the option to walk along the spectacular coastal path admiring the beautiful rock formations and the rich bird life.

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On the north side of the peninsula we stop at the picturesque Kirkjufell mountain and if we still have time we end our tour by heading to Stykkisholmur town where we have the option to soak in the specially-certified mineral-rich geothermal waters, before we head back to Reykjavik.

 

Interesting fact: In June 2008, the people of Snaefellsnes attained certification status as an EarthCheck community, becoming the first EarthCheck-certified area in Iceland and in Europe, and only the fourth in the world. Snaefellsnes has been committed to the EarthCheck programme since 2003 and has been successfully benchmarked for the past five consecutive years.

 

Our recommended stops:

• Eldborg volcanic crater

• Búðir

• Rauðafeldsgjá

• Arnarstapi and Hellnar villages

• Laugabrekka ruins

• Svalþúfa, Þúfubjarg, Lóndrangar

• Vatnshellir cave

• Djúpalon beach

• Kirkjufell mountain

• Stykkisholmur village and geothermal pool