Jaðar

Two double / twin rooms and an optional sofa bed in the sitting room. Cot and high chair available for free upon request. Well-equipped kitchen. Spacious, furnished terrace with hot tub – a grand setting for northern lights gazing in winter. Free Wi-Fi.

Guests prepare their own meals. The nearest restaurant is at Fossatún (4 km / 2.5 mi), which serves varied courses and welcomes both individuals and groups.

Jaðar farms chickens and sheep, as well as growing tomatoes, cucumbers and bell peppers in heated greenhouses. Guests are more than welcome to take a walk through the greenhouses and learn how Icelanders have learned to harness geothermal energy to grow various greens that require warm temperatures to thrive. There’s a playground for the children and guests are welcome to pet the farm animals.

The Troll Garden at Fossatún (4 km / 2.5 mi) is a fun playground where anyone young at heart can enjoy games and activities, such as troll golf, troll volleyball, troll hopscotch and lots more. Riding tours for young and old alike at Ölvaldsstaðir, close to town Borgarnes (21 km / 13 mi). Hikes. Goat farm Háafell at Hvítársíða (26 km / 16 mi) welcomes visitors. A nine-hole golf course by Nes in Reykholtsdalur, close to Reykholt (12 km / 7.5 mi) and an 18-hole course, Hamarsvöllur, close to town Borgarnes. The nearest swimming pool is in village Kleppjárnsreykir (10 km / 6 mi). The nearest town is Borgarnes, where you will find shops, restaurants, diners, a swimming pool and various tourism services (25 km / 15.5. mi).

Europe’s most voluminous hot spring, Deildartunguhver, is located in Reykholtsdalur (11 km / 7.5 mi). From there, you can drive north through the valley and over a low arch until you reach the beautiful Hraunfossar (35 km / 22 mi). Drive a further 8 km (5 mi) to reach Húsafell, a popular outdoor area where you will find lovely hikes, a swimming pool, a golf course and a service center. A further 12-km-drive will bring you to Fljótstunga, where you can take an hour-long excursion into Iceland’s largest lava cave, Víðgelmir. Húsafell is guarded by the quiet highlands and the foothills of glacier Langjökull are close by. Several tour operators offer trips to the glacier.

Borgarfjörður is the setting of various major events, both in Iceland’s history and in some of the more famous Sagas. At the Settlement Centre in Borgarnes (25 km / 15.5 mi), you can visit an exhibition on settlement history in the 9th and 10th centuries, as well as learn about the poet and Viking Egill Skallagrímsson. In Reykholt in Reykholtsdalur, 12 km afield (7.5 mi), Iceland’s most famous author, Snorri Sturluson, lived in the early 13th century, where you can visit Snorrastofa, a cultural and medieval history center. This center is named after Snorri, as is the hot pool close by. Snorri was killed in Reykholt in 1241.

If you walk a few minutes from Jaðar, you will come across Bær, an old church stead and convent. It was Iceland’s first episcopal seat, between 1030 and 1049, as well as the site of Iceland’s first convent and first school. The entrepreneurial work of the monks at Bær does, in fact, mark a change in Icelandic culture, as this is where the Latin alphabet replaced traditional runes. Bær was the setting for a large battle on April 28th, 1237, and no battle since in the region has seen the loss of as many lives. About 1,000 men fought and more than 30 perished.

Hosts: Eiríkur and Sigurbjörg