Laufás Turf Farm

Laufás is one of the best-preserved turf farms in Iceland, and it offers a glimpse of the way most Icelanders lived until the early twentieth century. The farm stands on the east shore of Eyjafjörður, about a half-hour drive from Akureyri on the road toward Goðafoss, in a spot that was a parsonage and church site for many centuries. Its low, grass-covered buildings, joined by a long row of timber gables, look like part of the landscape, and the interior carries the smell of old wood, peat smoke and dried fish. The farm is now a museum under the care of national heritage institutions, with rooms furnished to show daily life in the 1800s. Visitors see the baðstofa, the shared living and sleeping room where the family spent winter, the kitchen with its open hearth, the storerooms and the old guest rooms. The turf walls, built from layers of sod and stone on a timber frame, provided insulation in a country that had few trees and long winters.

Walking through the passageways, the scale surprises most visitors. Doorways are low, rooms are small and everything is arranged to save heat. Guides or signs explain how the buildings worked, why the roofs were planted with grass and how the family, farmhands and guests lived together through the dark months. The adjoining church, which has an elegant pulpit and altarpiece from earlier centuries, remains in use, and the old graveyard behind it holds stones with lovely, weathered names.

The setting adds to the visit. From Laufás you can look across the fjord to the mountains on the west shore, and the surrounding fields are often grazed by sheep and horses. In summer, a small cafe in the farm serves coffee and homemade cake, and the museum offers seasonal events and craft demonstrations on some days. Winter visits depend on opening times, since the museum is typically open in the main season and may be closed outside it, so check before you travel.

Laufás combines naturally with other sights on the road east of Akureyri. Many small-group trips link it with Goðafoss, and some add the Forest Lagoon or a visit to the Christmas House, a year-round festive shop in the valley south of town that delights families. If you are driving, the east shore road is a gentle, scenic alternative to the main Ring Road, with viewpoints over the fjord and the town of Akureyri across the water. Allow an hour or so for the farm itself.

It is a good stop for travellers who like history and architecture, but it also appeals to families, since children enjoy the tiny doorways and the sense of stepping into the past. Wear shoes you do not mind getting muddy in wet weather, and remember that rooms are dim and floors uneven, so take care with small children and with anyone who finds low ceilings difficult.

Photography rules may apply inside, so ask at the entrance. For a more complete picture of rural life, pair Laufás with a horse ride or with the larger turf farm at Glaumbær in Skagafjörður on another day, and compare how the two farms were built and used.