Helgafell: The Three-Wishes Mountain Ten Minutes from Stykkishólmur

A Ten-Minute Climb with a Thousand Years of Stories

Helgafell — “holy mountain” — is a 73-metre hill a few minutes’ drive south of Stykkishólmur, and it carries more history per metre than almost anywhere in Iceland. The first settler here, Þórólfur Mostrarskegg, held the hill so sacred that no one was allowed to look at it unwashed; he believed he and his kin would pass into the mountain when they died. A monastery stood at its foot from 1184, and the path up starts beside the grave of Guðrún Ósvífursdóttir — the central figure of Laxdæla saga and one of the most famous women of the saga age.

The Three Wishes

Local tradition says the mountain grants three wishes to anyone who follows the rules: start at Guðrún’s grave, climb without saying a word and without looking back, face east at the small chapel ruin on top, and make your wishes — they must be well-meant, and you must tell no one what they were. Rules aside, the reward is guaranteed: from the summit the whole of Breiðafjörður opens up, a fjord scattered with islands said to be countless, with Stykkishólmur’s colourful roofs in the foreground.

Practical Details

• Getting there: about 5 km south of town on Route 58 — ten minutes by car, or a flat, easy cycle from the harbour.
• The climb: 10–15 minutes up a clear but stony path; sturdy trainers are enough. Free, no gate, open year-round.
• Timing in July: with the midnight sun there is no bad hour, but late evening gives the islands of Breiðafjörður their best light — and you’ll likely have the summit to yourself.
• Respect the site: Guðrún’s grave and the chapel ruin are protected heritage — stay on the path and leave the stones as they are.

Where to Stay

The Stykkishólmur Inn is in the middle of town, ten minutes from the foot of the mountain — climb Helgafell in the evening, then walk the old harbour and Súgandisey lighthouse cliff before dinner. Book direct on Ourhotels.is for the best rate.

Photo: Jakub Hałun via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.