Möðrudalur á Fjöllum, the highest located farm in Iceland

Möðrudalur á Fjöllum, the highest located farm in Iceland

Möðrudalur á Fjöllum is the highest inhabited farm in Iceland and is right in the middle of the wilderness of Iceland – Möðrudalur in Öræfi at 469 meters (1,539 ft) above sea level. Arriving there is like entering an oasis after having driven through the rugged wilderness of Iceland. The farmland here at Möðrudalur is one of the most extensive in the country and it has been a farm here since the settlement of Iceland. There were important crossroads, the Trail of the Bishops and the Trail of Sámur, but you can read about Sámur in the Viking Saga

Hrafnkel’s saga freysgoða – the Story of Hrafnkell, Frey’s Priest. 

Some ancient farm-ruins have been discovered north of the farm in Möðrudalur, which have been declared as protected.

Once the rig-road 1 lead to the farm Möðrudalur. As it was moved north of the farm, Möðrudalur was literally cut off. The farmers were thinking of closing and moving away.  But the farmer, Vilhjálmur, decided on building up his birthplace. Vilhjálmur’s ancestors had lived on Möðrudalur farm since 1875 and Vilhjálmur could not bear the thought of his family’s farm being abandoned.  

Here high up in the wilderness of Iceland you will find the restaurant Fjallakaffi or the Café in the Mountain, which serves traditional local food, the lamb on the menu was raised at the farm, they catch the char and shoot the geese and they smoke their own fish and meat.

At Möðrudalur is a lovely little church, Möðrudalskirkja, built in 1949 by the farmer Jón A. Stefánsson (1880-1971). Jón built this church himself in memory of his deceased wife, Þórunn Vilhjálmsdóttir, who died in 1944. He even painted the altarpiece.

The houses in Möðrudalur are built in the old turf house style, which was the traditional way of building houses in Iceland. Möðrudalur farm offers accommodation for up to 27 people, and 14 people at a time can stay in two houses called the Baðstofa. More people can stay at Möðrudalur in the summertime when the campsite is open. Visitors can book guided day tours at Fjalladýrð tourist services and explore the vicinity.