Around Helgafell via Valaból

This route loops around Helgafell in Hafnarfjörður, a striking tuff mountain rising 338 metres above sea level, but does not climb the mountain itself. The route starts at the parking area at the end of Kaldárselsvegur, near Hafnarfjörður's water source at Kaldárbotnar, and follows a track across the ground around the mountain. The surface is varied lava landscape; gravel flats, sand, rock slabs and pahoehoe lava. Along the way it runs alongside Valahnúkar, a tuff ridge north of Helgafell, and reaches Valaból, a beautiful planted grove that the Icelandic Youth Hostel Association began cultivating just after 1940. There is Músarhellir, a small cave long used as a shepherds' shelter and later as a hut. On the east side of the mountain stands the rock pinnacle Riddarinn. The route is about 9.5 km with little elevation, around 100 metres, and is part of what is sometimes called the "Helgafell figure-of-eight". It is popular with runners and mountain bikers. At Kaldársel there are protected archaeological remains, including farm ruins and a sheep-house ruin. There is parking at the start. The area is a water protection zone and should be treated with care.