KERLINGARSKARÐ

Meet one of the Icelandic trolls

Kerlingarskarð, “Old woman pass”, a pass (311 m) over the Snæfellsnes mountain range. The pass is named after a rock named Kerling.

Legend has it (and there is more than one version) that this troll was on its way to her boyfriend. In all the excitement of meeting him again, she didn’t think about what time it was. When she arrived on top of the cliff she still stands on the first rays of the morning sun hit her and she turned to stone.

Another version claims she was fishing in Baulárvallarvatn (try saying that three times fast). She caught a lot of trout and didn’t want to stop. At the last possible minute, she tried to hurry back but was sadly too late.

She can still be seen, her line of trout over her shoulder, on a ridge of the mountain Kerlingarfjall opposite the mountain Hafrafell, at the north end of the pass.