Discover South Iceland
Glaciers – Geysirs – Volcanoes – Mountains – Waterfalls

Towns : Hella

Hella is one of three important regional centers in South Iceland, the other two being Selfoss to the west and Hvolsvöllur to the east. It is a trading and agricultural centre located on the east bank of the Ytri-Rangá river, and provides the neighboring farms with a wide range of services. Originally, Hella was a shop built on the site of a small farm called Gaddastaðir until it became a trading centre in 1927. And since the large cooperative Kaupfélagið Þór opened up a department store there in 1935, its population has grown steadily to around 1.000 people.

Ten kilometers north, is Gunnarsholt, an old farm abandoned in 1925, but now the site of the State Soil Reclamation (Landgræðsla Ríkisins), an experimental station for cultivation of grain. Landsmot - Icelands largest competition, exhibition and gathering of horses, is held here at the racetrack every 4 years. This is a wild and must-see event if you are in the country with over 25.000 people participating. The next time it will be held in Hella is the first week of July 2008. Other festivals in Hella include Töðugjöld (Harvest festival - middle of August annually), Réttir (sheep gathering feast in the middle of September annually) and Þorrablót (annual midwinter festival originally from Viking times where "súrmatur" -pickled fermented food including the famous "rotten shark" - is devoured with large quantities of Black Death brennevin). All of these parties are very traditionally Icelandic and most tourists find them fun, fascinating and partially insane.

Hella is a convenient point for seeing some of the most notable sights and attractions in South Iceland. One nearby place is Ægissíða, 2 km away on the western bank of the river, with 12 caves believed to have been made and used by some Irish monks and early Christian recluses before the arrival of the first Vikings in the 9th century.

Tourist services in town include a supermarket, tourist information office, post office, bank, flower shop, bakery, pharmacy, medical center, taxi, auto repair shop, hotel, sleeping-bag accommodation, campsite, 3 restaurants, ( Árhús , Kristján x and Kanslarinn ) a golf course, airport for small craft planes, swimming pool, horsebackriding, salmon and trout fishing. Located here is the Handicraft Center where local artists and craftsmen sell their arts- and craftwork. The Ytri-Rangá river produced the highest amount of rod-caught salmon in Iceland 2004 (over 3.000 fish), second to only its sister river the Eystri Rangá, and had the highest catch 2006 (over 4.200 – record for Iceland!).

Back