Per the Legend of Hali, Þórbergur says in his book Steinarnir tala (The Stones Speak), the Breiðabólsstaðar cliffs are not just cliffs, “they are a gigantic art museum”.
Heilrifað og gat means ‘whole ribbed and hole’, which comes from how farmers mark their sheep. In Icelandic law, everyone who owns a sheep is obliged to have one mark on all their sheep, one of the marks being Heilrifað or ‘whole ribbed’, and another Gat or “hole”.
The stone arch can be found in the cliffs right above Sléttaleiti, which used to be a farm but has since been rebuilt and used today as a writers residency house.
How to find the Arch
Sléttaleiti, or the writer’s house is roughly 2.7 km away from Skyrhúsið, which is a short drive or hike along highway 1. If you decide to drive, we recommend parking at the base of the road (closest to the highway) from the path that leads up to the house. From there, you will hike directly up the mountain, where you can see the slightly hidden arch from the road.
Please note that there is no formal path or trail for this formation. We also highly recommend bringing helmets on this hike, as there is a chance of rockfall close to the mountain. The area close to the arch can be a bit challenging to get to, but once you are directly inside the rock formation, the views of Hali and the surrounding glaciers are a must see. The entire trip can take anywhere from 2-3 hours.
