Accommodation
17 double/twin en-suite rooms, one of which has easy access for wheelchairs. The four larger rooms are ideal for families.
Board
The guesthouse has a restaurant / café that emphasises authentic home cooking, prepared with fresh local ingredients. The menu includes local lamb, trout and salmon from a nearby fish farm, and locally grown vegetables. Meals for groups must be pre-ordered.
Service and recreation
Fishing permits for a trout river that flows close to the guesthouse available. Marked hiking trails. Birdwatching. The nearest shop is by Ásbyrgi (11 km / 7 mi) and in town Húsavík (50 km / 31 mi). There’s a service centre in Ásbyrgi in the national park, as well as a nine-hole golf course (11 km / 7 mi). The nearest pool is in Lundur (19 km / 12 mi). In town Húsavík, the nearest town, you can go on whale watching tours, visit the Whale Museum, go swimming or golfing, and find all necessary services (50 km / 31 mi).
Vatnajökull National Park – North
In Ásbyrgi, 11 km / 7 mi from Skúlagarður, you’ll find a visitor’s centre and tourist information for the northern area of the Vatnajökull National Park. Some of Iceland’s most spectacular natural attractions, like Ásbyrgi, Jökulsárgljúfur canyons, waterfall Dettifoss and waterfall Selfoss, are in the area. You can try out a number of various hiking trails that vary in difficulty, ranging from 30-minute leisurely walks to two-day endurance hikes. A gravel road, passable by all vehicles, goes from Kelduhverfi and along the Jökulsárgljúfur canyons within the park boundaries. The road continues on along the western boundary to the Ring Road further south. You can also travel along the eastern banks of the Jökulsá glacial river and view waterfall Dettifoss from the canyon’s east side. In summer, daily tours depart from Ásbyrgi to valley Vesturdalur, one of the better-known places along the canyon row, and on to Dettifoss to the west
Whale watching, riding tours, the Núpasveit county
In town Húsavík (50 km / 31 mi), you can catch a daily whale watching tours on bay Skjálfandaflói, where you can hope to catch large whales, camera poised, in the wild. The town also has an interesting whale museum that explores the many different whale species and their way of life. Just south of Húsavík is farm Saltvík, where you can rent horses for riding tours. You can also go on a day tour along the east side of fjord Öxarfjörður and on to village Kópasker, and continue north to peninsula Melrakkaslétta, where distinctive natural beauty lines the shoreline of this northern region.
A base surrounded by varied natural beauty
Skúlagarður used to be the local community centre. The lowlands that characterize the surroundings where formed by silt from glacial river Jökulsá á Fjöllum, and the varied landscapes include green pastures, rivers, black sands and lakes – one of which was formed during an earthquake in 1975 - 1976. Just above the lowlands is an area formed by volcanic activity, earthquakes and run-offs from sub-glacial eruptions over the course of tens of thousands of years. It’s truly the promised land for nature lovers, geologists and outdoor enthusiasts.
Host: Helga Sturludóttir