Described as the Land of ice and fire, Iceland is a relatively unknown country situated to the north of Scotland and just below the Arctic circle. It has become known in travel circles as a place to get away from pollution and overcrowding of mainland Europe and for the stunning and surreal scenery that is in abundance. From the amazing volcanic scenery of craters, cones and geothermal areas to the vast icy regions of the south, there are also vast green areas, majestic waterfalls and untracked expanses of beach. It is also coming into its own in the adventure travel market, with multiple activities available, for example, trekking, kayaking, skiing, whale watching etc.
On this short 2 week trip, i undertook an adventure tour with Mountain and Arctic adventures, which i found to be exciting and extremely informative. It helps to have a guide that can explain all the bizarre and interesting landforms that are always popping up. Our trip left from the small but charming capital of Reykjavik and headed north through the barren interior to the north near Myvatn and then south back along the coast to the capital.
Scenes from the capital Reykjavik:
from the cathedral
views of the 'pond' and the Viking sculpture
From here we drove north towards the geothermal areas and rifts of Pingvellir, where ancient laws were passed down in the world's first democracy( the Alping) and underneath where the mid Atlantic ridge moves apart.
This region is known as the Golden Triangle with the 3 major tourist attraction: Gullfoss, Geysir and Pingvellir all close together. This is usually as far as tourists tend to go, but we were heading straight through into the islands desolate interior.
Geysir: from where all geysers are named, the largest but now extinct is ably supported by its sidekick Strokkur.
Gullfoss, the golden waterfall, once threatened by power developers, now protected for all.
Overlanding along the Kjolur route between the Langjokull and Hofsjokull icecaps.
from here we drove north to the geothermal area and campsites at Hveravellir, which interesting hot springs and aquamarine blue pools are visible. There is also a manmade pool to swim in as well!
North from here the drive over the Kjolur route becomes far more desolate with very little to see. However upon reaching the ring road (1), the landscape becomes far more greener. On the way north to Akureyri, we stopped at the beautiful Godafoss, a small but powerful waterfall that translates as water fall of the gods. It is here that a leader threw his pagan symbols in AD999 to symbolise the change to Christianity as the state religion.
From Godafoss the main route heads north to the northern capital of Akureyri, a pleasant town situated on a fiord, with mountains on all sides. There is a great view of the fiord from the hill next to the main church.
Next our route took us southeast to Myvatn, an incredible full of diverse volcanic landforms situated around a scenic lake. The name Myvatn means "Midge lake", describing the millions of annoying bugs that seem too be able to nestle anywhere on your face! Some visitors choose to protect themselves with a netted cap!
Krafla..was a volcano that erupted in the early 1980's..the whole area is still active and lave flows of different ages spread out for hundreds of miles from the site. This is to the north of the lake.
Nearby is the spectacular rock formations at Dimmuborgir, with its amazing "church" cave.
To the south is the impressive ash crater of Hjerfjall, the largest of its type in the world. Trekking to the top is a popular activity.
From Myvatn we travelled again to the north at stayed at the pleasant seaside town of Husavik, close to the arctic circle. Boat trips are popular here especially for excellent whale watching and the islands of Flatey and Grimsey.
From Husavik, we continued south the impressive hoof shaped canyon of Asbyrgi, which in mythology was formed by the hoof of Thor's flying horse touching the ground here. Modern theories range around ice age floods as the cause. This amazing landform spreads for miles and has a beautiful forest contained inside.
From Asbyrgi south the increasingly rougher track follows into the spectacular Jokulsargljufur national park with its rough Jokulsa a Fjolum river at its heart. The national park comprises the aforementioned river, canyon, and the incredible Dentifoss waterfall. There is great hiking along the river and canyon and good campsites at Vesturdalur.
Dettifoss
This incredible waterfall may only be 44m high but an astounding 500cubic meters of water falls off every second, making its Europe's most powerful waterfall. The water is grey and dirty as its source is one of the interior icecaps.
..and nearby Sellfoss.
A trip south from there to the extremely desolate lava fields of the Askja region, where the immense caldera (50sq kms)is to be seen.Inside the crater is the smaller crater of Viti, known in medieval times as "hell", whose water is warm enough to swim in. On the outside of the crater is the Dregoli canyon, with interesting rock formations and waterfalls. Nearby is the impressive mountain known as the "queen of the mountains " or Heroubreio. Note that the roads near Askja are all for 4wd use only for there are many river crossings on route!
From here we headed north again to the coast and then and back toward Hofn in the south. This pleasant seaside town has a good thermal swimming pool and is surrounded by the Atlantic ocean and a large lagoon; plus striking sea cliffs and mountains behind. To the south the area of the mightily glaciers and icecaps is yet to be seen.
from Hofn south the mighty icecaps come closer and closer to the Atlantic and encroach directly on it at the lagoon of Jokulsarlon. Here ice falls from the massive Vatnajokull icecap(the largest icecap in europe ) into the lagoon and eventually leads out to the sea. The lagoon has been seen in numerous movies such as Die another day and Tombraider. If you are lucky, you can sometimes see icebergs moving out through the outlet to be broken up in the rough Atlantic waves or see icebergs beached on the coast.
South of Jokulsarlon is the remaining icecaps and glaciers stretching from Vatnajokull to Skaftafell national park. The national park contains some of Iceland's best mountain scenery, enclosed in a green nook between 2 great glaciers,the most notable being Skaftafellsjokull.Here active volcanoes sit beneath the icecap and do erupt from time to time, the last being in 1996, when floodwaters destroyed the nearby ring road and bridges.
There is great hiking trails here, as well as walks on or near some of the glaciers. The national park is popular with icelanders and has aa large camping ground and informational centre at its base.
Apart from Hiking, another popular sport is that of Snowmobiling, which is undertaken on the Vatnajokull icecap. www.snow.is
South of Skaftafell, the main road swings west and away from the coast. At Dyrholaey, there are massive seacliffs, weird islets and seabird nesting grounds.
While further to the west is the spectacular waterfall of Skogafoss and the interesting open air museum with its unique grass roofed huts.
The Final part of out journal involved travelling west to the waterfall at Seljanderfoss and into Reykjavik the capital.
Although my trip took into account most of the island, there is still much room for further exploration especially in the northwest fiords and the eastern bays on the Arctic coast. Truly the land of fire and ice, Iceland did not disappoint.
