Kirkjufell (463 meters) is a striking mountain, with a conical shape that reminds one immediately of a volcano. But it is not a volcano! This mountain has acquired its fine shape by glacial erosion of a thick pile of basaltic lava flows and sediments. It started off as a huge layercake, which was later cut, sliced and carved by the force of the ice age glaciers. Visit this mountain but think twice before you attempt the summit. Turn off route 54 to the west of the village of Grundarfjörður and park near the fence. Hike first along the old gravel road to the west and then turn off to north in direction of the mountain. Follow the GPS track on the map provided. At first you are hiking through some scattered cliff outcrops of Tertiary basalt lavas. At the place marked “gangur” on the map at about 140 m elevation you come across a basalt dike, 2 m wide, that trends about northeast. This is a typical trend for dikes in the Tertiary of Snæfellsnes. As you get higher up you get on top of the Tertiary basalt formation at about 160 meters and come across some sediments. These mark the beginning of glaciation, or the beginning of the ice age in this area. The sediments are mainly conglomerate, sandstone and siltstone, with rare shell fragments. They have been deposited about 1 million years ago in an estuary of shallow sea in front of a river mouth. At 200 m elevation you reach the top of the sediments. Here there is a basaltic lava layer which is extremely rich in white or clear crystals of plagioclase (“porphbas” on map). This is the same crystal-rich basalt formation you see on top of the sediments in Stöð mountain to the northwest. Right above it is the climbing trail that leads to the top, up the cliff. Again, we do not recomment you try climbing any further alone and without a guide, unless you are an expert climber. Climbers regard this as a difficult to very difficult climb, even though some ropes have been installed. If you really want to try it to the top, then it is best to seek an expert guide. This you will find at the farm Háls at the southwest base of the mountain (Guðmundur Pálsson or his son Hjörtur Guðmundsson). Instead of going for the top, we suggest you descend the east flank and down to the sea shore and explore here before returning to the vehicle.