Eiriksstadir Viking Longhouse

In the Dalir valleys the sagas place the farm of Eirik the Red and the birth of his son Leif, the first European recorded to have reached North America. The excavated foundations of a small hall lie in the field, and beside them stands a reconstruction built with the tools and materials of the period: thick turf walls, a timber frame and a long fire trench down the middle. Inside it is dark, smoky and low, and a guide in wool and linen works through how a household of thirty cooked, slept and made things in one room. It is a modest place run at a human scale.

What you actually see

• The reconstructed hall - turf walls, timber frame and a central fire, built by period methods.
• The excavated ruin - the low foundations in the field the reconstruction is based on.
• The guided telling - costumed staff walking through daily life on a saga-age farm.
• The valley - the Haukadalur farmland the sagas name, still farmed today.

When to go

The summer season only; the site closes for winter and there is nothing to see then but a fenced foundation. Visits run as short guided talks rather than free wandering, so arriving mid-morning or mid-afternoon usually means a small group. Allow about an hour, plus the detour off Route 60 and back.

Honest expectations

It is a reconstruction, not an original building, and some visitors find that a letdown. The interior is dark and smoky by design, which is the point but is hard on eyes and clothes. It sits well off the ring road, and the visit is short for the driving involved. Beyond the hall itself there is little laid on.

Nearby

Budardalur and the Dalir farmland are close, and the road continues north toward the Westfjords.