Hellarnir að Hellum

At Hellar, there are three caves from which the town gets its name. These caves are man-made, carved in sandstone, and one of them is the longest man-made cave in Iceland. It is not known exactly how old these caves are, but it is believed that they are possibly from before the actual settlement of Iceland and were made by the Popes, i.e., Irish monks who settled in this country before the time of the Vikings (about 900).

On the other hand, it can be said with full certainty that the caves are at least as old as the town name Hellar, as it is very unlikely to name this town if there were no caves in the area. The first written sources about the farm Hella in Landsveit are from 1332; the caves are at least 600 years old, although they may be even older.

The area is a protected natural site.