Saenautasel

Saenautasel is a turf farm on the Jokuldalsheidi, high moorland that was settled in the nineteenth century when land elsewhere ran short, and it shows how marginal that life was. When Askja erupted in March 1875 the ash fell across the eastern heaths, poisoning grazing and burying the land; farms including this one were abandoned, and the eruption is one of the direct causes of the wave of emigration from Iceland to Canada and the United States in the following years. The farm was later reoccupied and finally left in 1943. It was rebuilt in the 1990s and is opened in summer with coffee and pancakes served in the baðstofa.

What to look for

• A heath farm rebuilt - turf walls on high moorland.
• Emptied by Askja in 1875 - ash that ruined grazing across the region.
• A cause of emigration - the years when people left for North America.
• Coffee in the badstofa - the farm opened as a summer stop.

When to go

June to August, while it is staffed. Two hours.

What to expect

It is open only in summer and the track in is gravel. The buildings are reconstructions, not original fabric. The moorland around is bleak and exposed, which is the point but not comfortable. Facilities are basic.

Nearby

Modrudalur is west along route 1; Egilsstadir is east.

Key facts