THE ELDBORG VOLCANO

Eldborg is a peculiarly shaped oval crater in the middle of the Eldborgarhraun lava field in Hnappadalur. It rises 60 metres over the beautifully overgrown lava field surrounding it. Eldborg was formed in two eruptions, the later about a thousand years ago. Eldborg belongs to the eruption system of Ljósufjall, a little north of Snæfellsnes. The Book of Settlement tells the story of a blind elder, Sel-Þór Grímsson, who first saw the volcanic eruption from the Hripi farm, the farm which stood where the crater is now. Eldborg and the surrounding lava was protected as a natural phenomenon in 1974. From Snorrastaðir in Hnappadalur, there is a 3 km long hiking trail up to Eldborg. When you reach the crater, there is a stunning view west of Snæfellsjökull and south of Skessuhorn and Skarðsheiði, south of Borgarfjörður. Eldborg is 120 km / 75 miles from Reykjavík.