Wilderness Center

Top choice


This brilliant attraction opened in 2016 and defies easy classification. It's a remote farm that offers museum exhibits, unique accommodation, local food, horse riding and hiking trails, and the opportunity for tailor-made tours, all year-round. It's 12km past Skriðuklaustur on Rte 934, at the end of Norðudalur valley, on the edge of the eastern highlands. The historic exhibits here were designed by the farm's owners (a filmmaker and historian) so are of superb quality – as is the entire farm concept.

Accommodation is offered in simple farmhouse rooms with shared bathroom (double 18,600kr) or – more intriguingly – in a dormitory room styled as a baðstofa, the traditional living/sleeping room on old Icelandic farms (bed for two 14,100kr to 15,100kr). Food is available all day (mid-May to September). There are new hot-pots, and a glorious Northern Lights–viewing hut for winter. Guided tours range from three-hour horse rides (15,000kr) to exploration of an abandoned nearby farm (8500kr). You can rent a mountain bike, or join a super-Jeep tour. Multiday activities are also possible; see the website for information.

If you're staying, give yourself a couple of nights here, and consider walking the Waterfall Trail, an easy six-hour riverside hike (one-way transfer possible) to Laugarfell.


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