Fjallabak

  Me and my in law family booked this very special trip to an area which is usually very secluded and not seen by too many tourists.
On our 5... read more day trek we hiked through the most incredible nature we could have ever imagine and we experienced even the outcome of the just recent glacier flood of the majestic Skaftá river.
Our guide Laurent, our driver Palli and our contact at Fjallabak were helpful and knowledgable from the first contact on and especially our trekking guide took good care of the group and knew literally a story of every stone we passed 🙂 . There were 7 of us and he took care that we were safe and sound all the time without loosing the "adventureous" touch 🙂

To sum it up: I can highly recommend going with Fjallabak, a small trekking company who organises its treks beside the beaten paths and treated us as a group of friends and not as some paying clients.

Me and my family miss Iceland already and we will definitely come back for the next trek 🙂

  For those looking to avoid the crowds and get off the beaten path, this is a great trip. This is a local Icelandic company, and they are quite knowledgeable.... read more Our guide Laurent was excellent. But a couple of notes of caution - the hiking is not always easy, and a couple f the days are longish - 22 kilometers. Also when we went, the wind was quite severe. I would probably not recommend for kids under 14 or 15.

  Our group of 8 (4 old guys, two couples) had a wonderful 7 day trek, generally east-west, mostly off trails, in all kinds of weather. The arrangements were thorough and... read more reliable and our guide was knowledgeable and energetic. Our group became friends while walking and cooking, though our guide did most of the work. The cuisine was wonderful, not what we’d expected in huts. Sometimes our group was the only one in a hut and sometimes there were more.
What you get with a Fjallabak trip is the opportunity to get away from the well-travelled routes, local insight with the ability to improvise, and food that was in sharp contrast with anything I’ve experienced backpacking. A good thing too considering the calories we burned walking 10+ miles a day through an extraordinary landscape.

  The Fjallabak Trekking company is a small family operated business that caters to travelers trying to get off the beaten path. We spent 6 days trekking in the Fjallabak... read more nature preserve with a small group of nine. Traveling just one week into the fall "shoulder...More

  Mon premier séjour en Islande remonte à 2004, avec Philippe Patay.

Depuis, je suis revenue sur cette île plusieurs fois, par moi-même ou avec Fjallabak. 
Pour marcher, pour contempler,... read more pour découvrir les oiseaux.

L’organisation et la qualité des guides de cette agence ont toujours été d’une qualité rare, celle de véritables artisans qui connaissent profondément le pays, qui choisissent savamment les parcours, les assurant avec autant de responsabilité que de chaleur humaine et de créativité.

Été 2019 : « Le Trek des Elfes »
Nouvelles retrouvailles avec Fjallabak. 5ème séjour avec leur agence.

du 7 au 13 juillet 2019

Quel bel itinéraire ! Le Trek des Elfes est magnifique ! 

Je ne connaissais pas encore ce rivage retiré et isolé du Nord-Est de l’Islande.
J’en ai aimé la diversité des paysages tout le long des marches, en itinérance de fjord en fjord, de refuge en refuge, par-dessus les montagnes.
Un bonheur de chaque instant, pour les yeux, pour tous les sens en éveil.
Loin du bruit, des voitures, de la vie des hommes.
Le temps s’arrête pour une immersion totale dans la nature arctique.

Les chants des oiseaux accompagnent les marches.
Le temps est avec nous, pour une belle variété de lumières et d’éclairages.
Quelques gouttes de pluie, tellement de ciels bleus, avec juste ce qu’il faut de gris, ou de brumes, pour nous laisser surprendre par la magie des contrastes.
Aurélien est un accompagnateur parfait, pour la réussite de notre vie en petit groupe.
Joyeux, sympathique, attentionné et prévenant pour chacun.
Et… si bon cuisinier, ne négligeant aucun détail pour enrichir et varier les saveurs de nos dîners au chaud dans les refuges confortables et de nos pic-nics face aux panoramas sauvages.

Très grande réussite. J'ai adoré ces jours. Je repartirai avec eux !
Merci à toute l'équipe de Fjallabak.

SophieK

  A dream come true - We planned a trip with Matta 3 years ago and due to Covid, only got to realize our dreams now. What a great program she put together with a hiking... read more component with Francois Eric, guide extraordinaire, and well chosen hotels to stay in. She took care of hiring a suitable van for us on the self drive section of our trip and was always available to answer our questions and put into plan our special needs. We gave her 10/10 for the trip. We did also have her amazing Dad as a guide for the first 6 days who was amazing. We highly recommend this company. Iceland is a must for all bucket lists.

  Great trek through the highlands in Iceland - Haven't regret the decision to join the trek with Fjallabak (trek at the doors of Hell South) for a single time. Everything was well organized, the guide and Philippe took... read more great care of the group. And the environment was just truly amazing.

  Le chemin des elfes: parcours avec paysages magnifiques, très riches et diversifiés, cela va des champs pleins de fleurs à la rocaille des sommets, à chaque fjord son paysage et... read more ses caractéristiques...j'ai apprécié aussi les accompagnateurs professionnels et agréables, respectant le rythme de chacun et ayant une très bonne connaissance de l'Islande. Sans parler des repas toujours bien préparés avec des petites attentions pour le groupe. C'est l'avantage d'un organisme à taille humaine que l'on ne peut que recommander pour de prochains séjours en famille, seul ou avec des amis..
Françoise

  Completely off-track trekking, the only paths we crossed were those of the sheeps.
Explanations in French and English, multinational hikers which makes it a nice experience

  Our family of four had a wonderful trek with Fjallabak trekking around Mount Hekla for four days in July this year.

Our guide Yoan was excellent in... read more every possible way. He was considerate, fun and informative throughout the entire journey and make us all feel at ease on our longest family trek to date. In addition his evening cooking skills were the stuff of legends!

We also found all interactions with Fjallabak to be flawless. They were incredibly informative and responsive with our enquiries while first booking the trip. We were also fortunate to meet Philippe and Matta in person during the journey... they are truly lovely family run business and you can tell they are passionate about what they do and providing a personal experience so different to many of the mass tourism options commonly found in Iceland.

We highly recommend this family business for anyone seeking a small group, personal and enjoyable trekking experience.

  Fjallabak specializes in treks that are outside the mainstream (i.e. Landmannalaugar). This is a nice difference which garanties you much less crowded landscapes (practically to yourself) in similarly beautiful areas.... read more The organization is of very high quality and the guide was very knowledgeable, The group was small (8) which is a nice number to be confortable. The huts were very nice and practically to ourselves.

  Petite entreprise familiale franco islandaise, qui propose plusieurs trek réellement hors des sentiers battus. Nous étions un tout petit groupe et cela fonctionnait comme une famille, super ambiance et je... read more pense meilleurs repas de l'Islande. Côté trek, celui des portes de l'enfer est juste magique avec chaque jour un paysage différent, ahurissant, et un niveau de difficulté assez accessible pour tout le monde. Nous étions comme seuls au monde durant 4 jours, et avons retrouvé la civilisation à Landmannalaugar.
N'hésitez plus vous avez trouvé l'organisation qu'il vous faut !!
Merci à Fjallabak

Nathalie

  Me and my in law family booked this very special trip to an area which is usually very secluded and not seen by too many tourists.
On our 5... read more day trek we hiked through the most incredible nature we could have ever imagine and we experienced even the outcome of the just recent glacier flood of the majestic Skaftá river.
Our guide Laurent, our driver Palli and our contact at Fjallabak were helpful and knowledgable from the first contact on and especially our trekking guide took good care of the group and knew literally a story of every stone we passed 🙂 . There were 7 of us and he took care that we were safe and sound all the time without loosing the "adventureous" touch 🙂

To sum it up: I can highly recommend going with Fjallabak, a small trekking company who organises its treks beside the beaten paths and treated us as a group of friends and not as some paying clients.

Me and my family miss Iceland already and we will definitely come back for the next trek 🙂 More

  This was our second trip with Fjallabak. In a very different part of Iceland, but with the same friendly, expert support and guiding. We did the guided "Birds and Fjords"... read more tour, a big circuit of the Westfjords with lots of stops for photos and birds. Excellent planning and selection of small and sometimes very remote guest houses. Would do it again in a minute. Also recommend Fjallabak for self drive planning. They know this country inside out

  La réserve naturelle de Fjallabak est magnifique et notre trek hors des sentiers battus a dépassé toutes nos attentes. L'itinéraire concocté par Fjallabak Trekking n'a fait que croiser l'"autoroute" du... read more Laugavegur, et nous étions quasi seuls sur les sentiers. Les conditions météo étaient loin d'être idéales (trombes d'eau et vents à 80 km/h certains jours), mais l'organisation parfaite a fait passer ces désagréments au second plan.
A l'exception du refuge surpeuplé de Hvanngíl (à l'intersection du trek surfréquenté du Laugavegur), les hébergements étaient très corrects, voire très agréables (le petit refuge cosy de Strútur).
Je lis des commentaires négatifs écrits il y a deux ans sur Fjallabak Trekking. Mes amis et moi avons vécu une expérience diamétralement opposée et très positive. Nous étions pourtant un groupe de niveaux variés, appréciant l'aventure avec un minimum de confort (pas de portage trop lourd, hébergement en dur). Mais si on redoute la pluie et l'imprévu, c'est vrai qu'il vaut mieux éviter de randonner dans les montagnes islandaises.
Compte tenu de ces contraintes, notre guide a toujours fait les bons choix (rythme, itinéraire, sécurité) et son enthousiasme communicatif faisait oublier les conditions difficiles. La souplesse de l'organisation nous a aussi permis de raccourcir une étape un jour de tempête. L'émerveillement face aux paysages, le bonheur d'une soirée ensoleillée et la compagnie bienveillante d'un logisticien-cuisinier hors pair ont fait de ce trek un souvenir inoubliable.

  Fabulous, walking a mountain trail in a small group with an excellent and humorous guide, talking English and French simultaneously. Emma really took care, from French-style cooking to correctly applying... read more a plaster. Fresh fish, spicy lamb, spaghetti to get your calories … needed with almost 20 km walking per day, mostly off the beaten tracks in a terrific landscape. We had eight days of sunshine, of course that was not guaranteed. Thanks to Philippe for the great and versatile organisation. Strongly recommended!

  Completely off track trekking
Hard sometimes with the weather
Adventure company
Good service
Only bad point is the level of the members can be too different and it... read more slows or tires one or the other group

  Our trek in the Elves Mountains August 2020: - Well planned itinerary with solid walks every day in fantastic landscape - Just as we like it - not many other... read more travellers around (mainly sheep) - Basic and well organized huts - Good cooking that included local produces - Professional guide, but not one for many rests, so good we were fit! - Always a good plan B up the sleeve for varioius weather conditions Definitely not our last trek on Iceland, we are now totally inspired for new outdoor adventures on this fascinating island.

  Unforgettable 8-day trek in the highlands of Iceland - We were a small (private) group with big expectations and Fjallabak delivered, and then some ... the result exceeded our expectations.
The organisation, the landscapes, the length of each... read more day's hike, the accommodation and the food were all excellent. And not forgetting Matta and our guide Stebbi - Matta for her patience in addressing our endless queries and changes in the months leading up to the trip, and Stebbi for being our slightly off-the-wall, bohemian guide who made each day an adventure.
For our next visit to Iceland we wouldn't consider anybody else - Fjallabak is a family company and it shows in their personal touch and the small things ... like Matta going out of her way to fulfil our request for restocking our drinks supplies at the mid-point 🙂

  Nous avons fait huit jours de trek hors sentiers battus (et la plupart du temps hors sentiers) dans des contrées lunaires inouïes. Mais ce qui a fait la réussite de... read more cette semaine, c'est l'organisation impeccable de cette agence, leur connaissance du pays, le soin et l'attention qu'ils portent à leurs clients et à leur confort, ainsi que la qualité et la générosité des repas, même avec des restrictions alimentaires. Yoan, notre guide, a complété cette réussite par sa connaissance du terrain, son attention, sa gentillesse, sa bonne humeur permanente et ses qualités humaines.
Toute l'équipe de l'agence était à l'avenant, merci à tous.
A recommander sans aucune hésitation. Il feront à coup sûr de votre voyage en Islande des vacances inoubliables.
Catherine et Ron Plus