Fossabrekkur from Keifar to Héðinsfjörður

Distance: 11-12 kilometres. Route: Kleifar – Syðriárdalur – Mörðruvallaskál – Fossabrekkur – Héðinsfjörður.
Maximum elevation: 680 metres. Hiking time: 7-8 hours.

The tour starts at Kleifar and you walk through the valley following sheep trails. The route is marked until you reach the river confluence of Syðriá and Rauðskarðsá rivers and from there you walk along the Syðriá river on the east bank. Along the route, there is rather little vegetation but it is still easy to walk. You pass below the mountain side of Syðrárhyrna mountain (Ósbrekkufjall mountain) and on the right hand side you have Þverfjall mountain with its towering presence to the north of the river and further along is Bangsahnjúkur peak, measuring 890 m. It is necessary to go to the bottom of the valley in order to not end up in a basin called Bangsaskál basin. The last stretch up into the pass is rather steep. You walk up two wave-shaped gravel plains; the first one is the steeper one and is called Fossabrekkur slope, from which the route derives its name. We follow a curved path to the north-west up into the pass. When you continue down to Héðinsfjörður fjord, you walk for the most part on a glacier down to the Möðruvallaskál basin and then down several terraces with small cataracts. You descend in front of lake Héðinsfjarðarvatn at the abandoned farm Grundarkot. If the plan is to walk down to Vík, you walk along the lake on its east side – the route is rather wet but easily doable.