Private Silver Circle Saga Geopark Tour

Hvalfjarðargöng is a road tunnel under the Hvalfjörður fjord and is the first underwater tunnel in Iceland. It is among the longest underwater road tunnels in the world, being 5,770 m (18,930 ft) in length and of it, 3,750 m (12,303 ft) lies beneath the seabed. Its deepest point reaches 165 m (541 ft) below sea level.

By the shore of Borgarfjörður fjord is the town Borgarnes. This is the largest town in the Borgarbyggð municipality, with a population of about 2000.
Borgarfjarðarbrú bridge, which opened in 1981, is the second-largest bridge in Iceland after Skeiðarárbrú bridge, being 520 m (1,706 ft) in length. This bridge connects the main road between the northern and southern parts of Iceland.
Here we will stop for refreshments and restrooms and stretch our legs.

Hvítárbrú is a single-lane bridge (106 m (348 ft) in length) traversing across the Hvítá river. Opening in 1928, it was part of the main road connection between the northern and southern parts of Iceland until the Borgarfjarðarbrú bridge opened in 1981.

Deildartunguhver is a hot spring in the Reykholtsdalur valley, renowned for its very high flow rate of 180 liters/second at 97°C. It therefore the highest flow rate of hot springs in Europe. It is used for central heating to heat up buildings in the nearby regional towns, villages, and greenhouses, and is also the home of the very rare small fern Struthiopteris fallax (of the Blechnaceae family) grows by Deildartunguhver, the only place in the world this fern grows.

The Reykholt village is where the Icelandic Sagas (is. Íslendingasögur) was written by the greatest historian and poet of Iceland, Snorri Sturluson (1179-1241). Snorri was also a chieftain, politician, and lawspeaker at Althingi, the Icelandic parliament in Thingvellir. He is also believed to be the author of the Icelandic Edda, commonly referred to as Snorra Edda, the source of Norse mythology. Another of his works is Heimskringla, a collection of the history of the Swedish and Norwegian kings, moving through to the early medieval Scandinavian history. Egils Saga is the oldest of Snorri’s Icelandic Sagas, featuring Egill Skallagrímsson (AD 904-995), an Icelandic Viking, skaldic poet, sorcerer, and farmer. Snorri Sturluson was assassinated in Reykholt by agents of the then King of Norway, Hákon IV.

The breathtaking Hraunfossar (e. Lava Falls) is formed by rivulets, a series of tiny waterfalls streaming in close vicinity to each other out of a kilometer stretch across Grábrókarhraun (e. Lava Field of Grábrók) into Hvítá (e. White River). Hraunfossar has also been referred to as Girðingar (e. Enclosures) due to how the range of streams forms what looks like an enclosure.
Both Hraunfossar and Barnafoss (e. Children’s Falls) were declared a reserve in 1987.

Barnafoss (e. Children’s Falls) derives its name from the tale of two children who long ago supposedly fell into the river when trying to cross a naturally formed stone bridge over the river below the waterfall, but fell into it and drowned. After this accident, their mother is said to have had the stone bridge demolished, but others say it was destroyed by an earthquake. Later in 1891, farmers built a bridge over the river below Barnafoss for their sheep to pass over to the other side.
Barnafoss, like Hraunfossar, is fed by Hvítá (e. White River), a glacier river flowing from the Langjökull glacier. In contrast with Hraunfossar, Barnafoss races down a narrow valley, twisting and churning, and can be viewed from above. Both Hraunfossar and Barnafoss falls were declared a reserve in 1987.

Húsafell (e. Hill of Houses) is a woodland oasis and the innermost estate in Borgarfjörður county, in a ring of mountains and glaciers. It is a historic farm and church estate located, and archaeological excavations on the property have revealed ruins of farms from the 14th and 15th centuries. It is in a birch wooded lava area and is a popular summer resort among natives. Húsafell is completely self-sustainable, using hot water from nearby hot springs by Selgil (e. Shieling Ravine) to heat the summer houses and pools. The cold water originates from the nearby glaciers Eiríksjökull (e. Glacier of Eirikur) and Langjökull (e. Long Glacier). This area is best described as an off the beaten path destination surrounded by landscapes sculpted by lava on the edge of the Central Highlands of Iceland.
A Swimming pool, bistro, and a golf course can be found here along with several second homes and holiday housing.

The Grábrókargígar (e. Craters of Grábrók) volcanic craters consist of three craters; Litla-Grábrók (e. Little Grábrók), Stóra-Grábrók (e. Big Grábrók) and Grábrókarfell (e. Hill of Grábrók). These craters were declared a nature reserve in 1962 as natural monuments. They belong to a volcanic system that stretches far west of the Snæfellsnes peninsula and is part of the volcanic system of Ljósufjöll (e. The Light Mountains). The 2,000-3,000 old lava which flowed from these craters is rough Aa-lava, covering most of Norðurárdalur (e. North River Valley).
Stóra-Grábrók, the biggest of the beautifully formed craters on this scoria cone row, has a footpath leading to its top for a spectacular view over the Borgarfjörður region and most of the Norðurárdalur valley. It's a very easy hike to the top, but there's also a footpath around Stóra-Brók and Grábrókarfell.

The stunning Glanni (e. Lustre) waterfall (formerly Glennunarfoss, e. Waterfall of Lustre) is situated in Norðurá (e. North River). Its name comes from the bright white color of the frothing water as it hits rocks in the stream. Some of the locals living around believe trolls and elves live there, but trolls and elves are a common belief in Iceland, though it's not as common to believe in their existence as it used to. Glanni is close to the Grábrókargígar volcanic craters, Grábrókarhraun (e. Lava Field of Grábrók), and the small village Bifröst (in Norse mythology, Bifröst is the rainbow bridge between Midgard (Earth) and the gods in Asgard). Glanni is a small waterfall but very beautiful with its three side-by-side drops with multiple tiers. The word Glanni means light or shining.
A viewing deck gives you a great view of the Glanni waterfall and a walking path leads to the beautiful Paradísarlaut hollow.

Paradísarlaut (e. Hollow of Paradise) is a beautiful and peaceful oasis in the middle of the mossy Grábrókarhraun lava field, just below the Glanni waterfall. A dark green-blueish pond lies in what looks like a lava cup, formed by water slowly streaming from under the lava field.