Hrauntun (Hrauntún) Hike
Hrauntun (Hrauntún) Hike
Duration: allow 45 minutes each way. Difficulty: easy, level walk through lava. Start/end: Thingvellir National Park Information Centre by the intersection of roads 36 and 52. Interest: birds, flowers, ruins of a turf farm.
The Walk: from the information centre walk east along the road for a few minutes then take the trail which takes off to the left. Enjoy the birch, willow and bilberry shrubs, especially late in the season when the leaves are colourful. Look out for birds such as Golden Plover, Redwing and Whimbrel. You will reach the abandoned farm Hrauntún after 1.8km.
This was a smallholding established by Halldor Jonsson in 1830. Three generations of his family lived there until 1930, when the site was abandoned.
Most of the farms in the area had the same problem: good grazing land but few hayfields. There isn’t a lot to see on the site as turf buildings disappear quickly once they are abandoned, but you can make out the old hayfield around the farm. You can return by the same route, or take the path heading directly south towards the lake, which ends at the road. Turn right and walk along the road back to your vehicle.