Borgarvirki

There are practically no fortresses in Iceland at all. There have not been any wars during the last few centuries. This one was built about 1000 years ago. They used natural walls at the top of the mountain and additionally strengthened them. There is no reliable information whether it was ever attacked or not. However, there is a saga about the siege of some fortress in Iceland (maybe this one). The attackers decided to starve it. The defenders of the fortress had already finished their last meal, and decided to throw the very last black pudding to the attackers, showing that they still have plenty of food. The enemy bought this bluff and retreated. Now there is almost nothing left of...

Our plan was to stop and see Borgarvirki and then go to Hvitserkur. I think we would have been slightly disappointed if we had gone out of our way to see this formation but glad that we stopped since it was on the way. So, if you’re going to be on the road anyway it’s definitely worth seeing. It’s easy to get to the top. There’s a wooden staircase for the first half and then some minimal hiking to get on top of it. When you get up there it has a great panoramic view of the...

Really cool to see! The path up and around the walls isn't very clear but can be figured out by the slightly lighter colour of rocks. If you have bad joints I'd avoid going up because coming down is pretty rickety as there are no stairs past the initial set. Beautiful views, I'd suggest taking a picture of the info wall then reading it as you're walking through what's left of...