Day 114: Caves in Hella

After being sick for over two weeks, we - Janne and I - planned a visit to the caves of Hella for Friday. We got vouchers from Ingveldur, which they had given us because they live in the area, but she said she always forgot the vouchers. Since entry would have cost around 5500 ISK (around 36 euros) for 70 minutes, we were both happy not to have to pay entry.

First, the man who led the tour told us a bit about the area and that it is believed that Irish settlers lived in the area around Hella before the Nordic settlers and the caves may have been built by them. But it can't be proven yet.

The first cave was pretty small and even I had to duck a little to avoid hitting my head going in. There was a hole in the ceiling in the middle of the cave, a kind of chimney where there might have been a fireplace in the past. The cave was dug out of sandstone and the sheep that used to spend the winter in it have rounded the walls over time and you could see that pretty clearly.

Through a corridor you came to a second cave, which was slightly larger. At the far end of the cave there was a rise. The man said that at first it was thought that it was intended as a place to sit, but later it was discovered that flat stones heated over the fire were placed on the raised area and used as a hearth.

Then we walked a few meters through the field and were allowed to look into a cave that is still used as a storage room for food by people who lived right next to it.

The last cave was the largest. The man said it could have been some kind of church or definitely a place where people met. At the back of the cave there was a small staircase that led to a kind of platform. There were smaller and larger holes all over the wall in which there were partially lit candles.

The stories were really interesting and apparently there is still research being done into who built the caves. There is a theory that people from Ireland lived here before the Vikings who settled Iceland, but this cannot be proven yet as far as I understand it.

After the tour we still had some time and decided to see two more waterfalls - Ægissíðufoss and Urriðafoss.

The first one was less than ten minutes from the caves and was really impressive. The second waterfall was about a quarter of an hour further towards Selfoss and was already partially frozen. The path there - less than thirty meters - was also icy, so we had to be careful where we stepped.

Afterwards we spontaneously drove to Selfoss and got hot dogs at a stand that is relatively well known and is said to have the best hot dogs in Iceland. The hot dogs were good, but honestly not the best in Iceland. Afterwards we got a milkshake, but it took so long that Janne drove straight back to her host family and I drank the shake in the car on the way back. Still, it was really tasty.

See you then

Julia