Eldborg

Eldborg is a spatter and scoria crater on the southern side of Snaefellsnes, an oval ring rising about 60 metres above the lava field it produced, with walls that are remarkably even all the way round. The eruption is generally put at somewhere between five and eight thousand years ago. It is reached on foot from the farm at Snorrastadir, an hour's walk over lava, birch scrub and wet ground, and the last stretch up the outer wall is steep on loose material. From the rim the crater bowl drops away sharply on the inside and the whole peninsula and Faxafloi open up around it.

Highlights

• An even oval ring - about 60 metres above its lava field.
• A steep inner bowl - the drop from the rim inside.
• An hour's walk in - over lava, scrub and boggy ground.
• Views over Faxafloi - the whole southern side of the peninsula.

When to go

June to September; the approach is very wet outside that. Three hours.

Practical notes

The walk in is boggy and marked only loosely, and boots matter. The climb up the wall is loose and steeper than it looks. There is no shelter. Facilities are at the farm, which charges for parking in season.

Nearby

Gerduberg is west along the peninsula; Borgarnes is east.

Key facts