Borgarvirki Fortress

Borgarvirki is a volcanic plug: a core of basalt left standing after the softer rock around it wore away. The result looks built. Ranks of basalt columns form a rough ring, and in earlier centuries people filled the gaps to turn the outcrop into a fortress. The Icelandic sagas record it in military use.

The site was renovated in 1949, when a granite lintel was set over the main entrance. A wooden staircase climbs from there into the interior. At the top there is a viewing dial and a 360-degree view over the valley and towards the Vatnsnes peninsula.

The route around the walls is not marked. You follow it by the slightly lighter colour of the rock where people have walked. There is an information board at the bottom; photograph it and read it as you go round, rather than reading it twice.

• The road: the approach from Route 1 is unpaved and rocky, and not an easy drive.
• The climb: past the wooden staircase there are no steps. Coming back down over bare rock is the harder half.
• Route finding: the path around the walls is unmarked, and shows only as slightly lighter rock underfoot.
• Read first: photograph the information board at the bottom and read it as you walk through the fortress.
• Crowds: the site is off the main routes, and you may have the whole rock to yourself.

Borgarvirki stands above the valley between Víðidalur and Vesturhóp, and is reached by travellers driving the Vatnsnes peninsula. The approach from Route 1 is unpaved and rocky, and it is not a comfortable drive. The road ends at a parking area below the rock. From there a wooden staircase takes you up through the main entrance into the fortress. Past that first flight the way is bare rock.