About the tour:
Try out glacier hiking / mountaineering on one of the most famous glaciers in Iceland. Snæfellsjökull is a perfect place to hike, if you want few people around you.
At the parking lot we are going to prep you with the right gear for the hike. The hike takes from 6 to 8 hours in total, approach to the glacier takes 40-60 min. When we get to the edge of the glacier, we’ll put on the glacier gear; crampons, harness and ropes. The summit of Snæfellsjökull is at 1446m above sea level. Usually we stop in 1418 meters, but we can go to the true summit 1446m, but it is a steep slope on top of rock and ice peak.
Lunch break on the summit is nice to enjoy the view while you eat something, on a clear day the view of the peninsula is stunning, but of course we can’t promise a clear day. After the lunch we have to start the descent from the summit and back to the car.
The Snæfellsnes is a peninsula situated to the west of Borgarfjörður in western Iceland. It has been named Iceland in Miniature, because many national sights can be found in the area, including the Snæfellsjökull, regarded as one of the symbols of Iceland. With its height of 1446m, it is the highest mountain on the peninsula and has a glacier at its peak . The volcano can be seen on clear days from Reykjavík a distance of about 120km. The mountain is also known as the setting of the novel Journey to the Center of the Earth by the French author Jules Verne. The area surrounding Snæfellsjökull has been designated one of the four National Parks by the government of Iceland. The peninsula is one of the main settings in the Laxdœla saga and it was, according to this saga, the birthplace of the first West Norse member of the Varangian Guard, Bolli Bollasson. Other historical people who lived in the area according to the saga include Guðrún Ósvífurdóttir Bolli Þorleiksson and Sorri Goði. Snæfellsjökull is a 700,000-year-old glacier-capped stratovolcano in western Iceland The name of the mountain is actually Snæfell, but it is normally called “Snæfellsjökull” to distinguish it from two other mountains with this name. It is situated on the most western part of the Snæfellsnes peninsula in Iceland. Sometimes it may be seen from the city
Duration / Walking: 6-8 hours
Ascent: 950 meters
Distance: 10 km
Level of difficulty: 3/5
Age Min: 13 years
Pax: min 2pax – max 7pax
Time of year: may – november
Pick up: Reykjavík, 08:00
Meet on location: You can meet us at Arnarstapi Center
Meeting time: 10:00
We provide:
- Glacier gear
- Crampons
- Ice axe
- Ropes
- Carabiners
- Harness
- Local Glacier guide
You Bring:
- Warm cloths:
- Rain gear pants & jacket
- Down or primaloft jacket ( can be nice on lunch brake)
- Good hiking shoes
- Hat & gloves
- Food & water for the day
- Sunglasses
- Hiking Poles (not required)
You can rent some of this gear from us if you don‘t have it.
About the weather in Iceland
Weather in Iceland can change fast so if the weather is not good for this hike day we may have to cancel this trip or we can move the hike to the next day if that is better.
