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Attractions : Thjorsadalur Valley

Thjorsádalur is one of the attractions in the valley of the River Thjorsá. It is a great day trip all-year round from Hotel Ranga and Hotel Highland and is well worth a visit. One of the attractions here is the Saga-Age Farmhouse, a replica built in 1974 of the farm at Stöng which was destroyed by an eruption of Hekla in 1104. The ruins of Stöng can also be seen, and a short walk further up the valley leads one to Háifoss, the second highest waterfall in Iceland and one of the most impressive. This is one of the real pearls of Icelandic beauty.

www.thjorsawaterfalls.is

Gján                                                                                                                                 Closeby is a beautiful gorge called Gjáin. The river that runs through Gjáin gorge is called Rauðá (Red River). This is an amazing place and worth to visit. Some people have found it so beautiful here that they have (by rumour - secretly) spread their ashes there into the azure blue waters - even well into modern times. Another beautiful river called Fossá, flows amongst the pseudo-craters and it falls off the edge of a cliff and forms a two-level waterfall called Hjálparfoss. There you can find beautiful rock formations. The nearby mountains of Burfell and Mount Hekla are always visible in the area on a clear day.

Consequences of living near Mount Hekla 
Some early settlers of Iceland chose the fertile valley of Thjorsardalur as the site for their farmsteads. They were unaware of the fact that the tranquil-looking, snow-capped mountain towering on the south was an active volcano. In 1104, there was a massive eruption in Mt. Hekla, and the settlement in Thjorsardalur was buried under tonnes of volcanic debris and ash.

In 1939 Scandinavian archaeologists excavated Stöng and revealed what was left of the smothered Saga-age farm. The findings provided fresh data about the design and construction of Viking long-houses and their evolution up to the 12th century and other valuable information about the period known as the Commonwealth. In 1974, on the 1100th anniversary of the settlement of Iceland, architect Hordur Agustsson and a team of historians pieced together the available data and meticulously constructed a replica of Stöng at Skeljastadir, a few kilometres down the valley.

Commonwealth Farm

The reconstructed farm is called Thjodveldisbaer (Commonwealth Farm), and is perhaps the best representation of Icelandic medieval dwelling. What is actually left of the original farm at Stöng are some stone foundations, now covered by a large protective wooden shelter.

Stöng is also known for being the home of the prominent farmer and warrior Gaukur Trandilsson, who according to a brief account in Njal's Saga, was killed by Asgrimur Ellida-Grimsson, his foster-brother, in a duel of honour apparently over Gaukur's affair with a kinswoman of Grimsson. In the 19th century some old bones were discovered in a steep cliff on the north bank of Thjorsa river, further down the valley, supposed to be those of Gaukur from Stöng. The place is called Gaukshofdi (Gaukur's bluff).

To the north of Thjorsadalur is Thjorsárver, a broad expanse of well-vegetated wetlands flanking the river Thjorsá to the south of the glacier Hofsjökull and covering 150 km2. It is the largest breeding ground of the Pink-Footed Goose in the world; about 10,000 pairs arrive in the spring and up to 40,000 birds leave in the autumn. The area is protected by both Icelandic law and also the Ramsar Wetland Convention, which embraces about 90 member states.

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