Herjolfsdalur Valley

Herjólfsdalur is a green valley enclosed by lava cliffs at the northwest edge of Heimaey, in the Westman Islands. It is one of Iceland's oldest inhabited places — farm ruins here date to the first years of settlement — and takes its name from Herjólfur Bárðarson, said to have farmed it in the ninth century. A reconstructed longhouse, Herjólfsbær, holds a small Viking exhibition, and each August the valley hosts Þjóðhátíð, Iceland's biggest outdoor festival.