Once upon a time…

The Midgard Story!

The story of Midgard began when 23-year-old Siggi Bjarni took a life-changing trip to Queenstown, New Zealand. While traveling, he recognized the potential of his own hometown Hvolsvöllur in a similarly beautiful and adventurous landscape. Once back home, he founded Midgard Adventure, just one day before the iconic Eyjafjallajökull eruption in 2010. Coincidence? We don’t think so!

The mission was simple: to share his love of the country and backyard he grew up exploring. Soon Siggi was joined by Addi, his cousin’s husband and Stefnir, a neighboring horse farmer. In 2013 Addi’s mother, Björg, wanted in on the adventure and joined as the CEO. And since there’s nothing quite like working 24/7 with your mother-in-law, Hildur, Addi’s wife, joined the family circle. Together the family designed trips, activities and tours, doing only the things they loved most, in this incredible area they are lucky enough to call home.

The building that is now Midgard Base Camp started its life as a cement factory and was built by Siggi’s father, Svenni, more than 50 years ago. After years of neglect, we bought the ruins of the factory to have a place where we could wash and repair our super jeeps and store our equipment. That evolved into the vision of Base Camp, having a place to host and hang out with our guests after tours.

At first, the banks did not share our vision, so we went at it alone – no loans, just a lot of love, hammers and nails. The dream really came to life when Stefan, Hildur’s Swiss friend from teenage times, joined in. Over a cheese fondue dinner, he decided to join, became a co-owner, moved to Hvolsvöllur, got a Midgard tattoo, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Family and friends came together in the construction of Midgard Base Camp – even today, most of the furniture is homemade! When we opened our doors in May 2017, more family members joined in. Kalle, Björg’s brother-in-law, visited, got happily stuck and joined the crew. His wife Harpa joined forces in our travel agency in 2022. That same year, Björg’s husband, Markús, made the big move from Reykjavík to the adventure capital or as we call it the “centre of the universe”: Hvolsvöllur.

Community is at the heart of Midgard. Many of us grew up here, while others fell in love with the area and joined this close-knit team – Midgard would not be the same without a Þórir, Gina, Raimonds, Tanya, Olga, Ruben, or a Jón Gisli (just to name a few). It’s the fantastic people that create the warm, welcoming Midgard vibe. And let’s not forget about Hekla and her granddaughter, Askja, the two black Labradors, who also “work” here, adding their own special charm.

You get the point, Midgard Base Camp has become an extension to our home. It’s a place to relax, swap adventure stories, eat great meals, experience incredible events, enjoy a beer and surround yourself with good people.

Today Midgard is run by Björg, Hildur, Stefan and Addi. Our roles may have evolved, but the values have stayed the same: Fun, Family, Flexibility and Sustainability. Every decision, big or small, is guided by these priorities. Looking ahead, we see Midgard’s vision as being a role model in everything we do, creating core memories, connecting people to nature and each other, because we care.

In short, Base Camp is our home, and we hope you’ll feel at home here too.

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