Iceland in Summer: Journey Through a Fabled LandIceland in Summer: Journey Through a Fabled Land

This morning we’ll fuel up on a hearty breakfast before embarking on a full day of Icelandic explorations. We’ll start in Hafnarfjörður, home to Iceland’s largest colonies of elves, trolls, and mythical creatures. Collectively, these spiritual beings are called “Hidden Folk” or “Huldufólk” in Icelandic. After some storytelling about these fantastic spirits, we’ll set out on the most famous route in Iceland, the Golden Circle. Þingvellir National Park will be our first stop, an area known for its ruins of old stone shelters and the site of Iceland’s parliament from the 10th to 18th centuries. It also lies on the divergent edges of the European and North American tectonic plates. It is this active plate boundary and associated hot spot under Iceland that creates the steaming vents and chimneys of the Geysir Geothermal Area. The final stop on our excursion today will be the spectacular Gullfoss Waterfall. Venture close enough to feel the mist on your face via the pedestrian walkway to the waterfall’s edge. 

Today we'll have a full day overland journey along Iceland’s South Coast punctuated by several spectacular stops. The first visit will be at the impressive, nearly 200-foot drop of Seljalandsfoss waterfall, whose water originates at the Eyjafjallajökull glacier. At our next stop, we’ll have the option of seeing the equally tall and impressive Skógafoss waterfall or taking a dip at Seljavallalaug, Iceland’s oldest and arguably one of the world’s most stunning public swimming pools. Keep your eyes peeled as we continue our drive past Drangurinn Rock, a landscape feature that, according to local folklore, was ripped from a mountain by an outlaw and then became a home for elves. A little further on and we’ll find ourselves at Reynisfjara, a picturesque beach with enormous columns of basalt rising from its distinctive black sands. After another two and a half hours along the southern ring road, we’ll reach Jökulsárlón, a stunning glacial lagoon renowned for its icy blue waters speckled with icebergs from the surrounding Breiðamerkurjökull glacier. We'll end our day in the fishing town of Höfn at the base of the Vatnajökull ice cap.

Today we'll have another long drive as we make our way off the beaten path towards the East Fjords. A short distance out of Höfn we’ll pass by a giant red chair sculpture that stands out starkly against an otherwise empty landscape punctuated by high mountains, deep fjords, and quaint fishing villages. We’ll make a stop in the town of Djúpivogur, where we’ll visit the Bones, Sticks & Stones gallery that houses a remarkable collection of zeolites, minerals, and different types of skeletons. We’ll also step inside the humble-looking Auðunn’s Stone and Mineral Collection, a truly unique display of specimens that the owner has been collecting from around the region for over three decades. In Djúpivogur we’ll also find Rakkaberg, one of several strange geologic formations known as “elf churches”. We’ll end the day in Egilsstaðir, a small town located on the banks of the Lagarfljót glacial lake. According to Icelandic folklore, a 200-foot-long serpent monster lives in the lake. Time and energy permitting, you might stretch your legs on a moderately strenuous uphill hike to Hengifoss, a waterfall distinctive because of the bright red stripes streaking across the cliff face.

By this time we may have already heard Iceland’s most popular joke: “What do you do if you get lost in an Icelandic forest?” The answer: “Stand up!” For sure we’ll have noticed a distinct lack of tall trees during our travels so far, so our destination this morning will be the refreshing Hallormsstaður National Forest, the largest forest in the country. Here we’ll walk some of the trails to appreciate the native birch species and its arboretum exotic species collection with over 80 tree varieties. We’ll visit the Wilderness Center to learn about life in the highlands and the daily lives and traditions of the Icelandic people who lived here centuries ago - what they ate, how they lived amongst the dynamic forces of nature, and their cultural beliefs. We’ll end the day at the picturesque Lake Urriðavatn, relaxing at the geothermally-heated Vök Baths, soaking in one of the facility’s floating pools that are heated by hot springs deep under the lake.

Our travels today take us into the northeast corner of Iceland. Our first stop, after about two hours of driving, is the truly wondrous Dettifoss, the largest waterfall in Iceland and the second most powerful in all of Europe. Flowing from the Vatnajökull glacier, this 330-foot wide and 150-foot tall waterfall is an impressive display of the power of nature. Continuing north to the coast we eventually arrive to the small town of Húsavík, famous for whales and fishing. After some free time to wander around the town, we’ll get back on the road and travel to Mývatn Lake. This beautiful and serene lake was created from violent vulcanism but is now home to abundant birdlife. This is still an active geothermal area, and a wonderful location to see geologic formations including calderas, volcanoes, lava fields, basalt columns, and pseudocraters formed by steam explosions as magma rises beneath the water. Our accommodations for the night are near a great example of these pseudocraters at Skútustaðir.

We’ll take breakfast to go today as we continue our drive counterclockwise along the northern ring road. Our first stop is the crescent shape waterfall, Goðafoss, translated as “Waterfall of the Gods”. At the annual meeting of parliament in Þingvellir in the year 1000, the lawspeaker and priest Þorgeir Ljósvetningagoði made the decision that the country would abandon the Old Norse religion in favor of Christianity and threw the idols of the Old Gods into this waterfall, giving it its name. We continue to Akureyri, the largest town in northern Iceland, and along the peninsula of the trolls. Tröllaskagi is known for its high mountains and its horse-farms that breed Icelandic horses. At the northern tip of the peninsula, we’ll find the small fishing village of Siglufjörður (Sigló for short). At The Herring Era Museum, we’ll get a feel for Sigló as it was during the herring boom in the mid-1900s and how it earned its nickname “the Atlantic Klondike.”

Today our path turns south, completing our circumnavigation of the island. We stop at Kolugljúfur Canyon where the Víðidalsá River drops into a gorge, cascading over several waterfalls named for the giantess Kola who once lived in the gorge. A little further on we’ll stop to climb the volcanic crater of Grábrók for stunning views of western Iceland. Before reaching our overnight destination we’ll raise a glass in celebration of our journey at the Stedji Brewery that serves up delicious locally-made craft beer. We finish our day in the small town of Borgarnes where we have some free time to explore on our own before dinner.

Today we’ll make an excursion to the magical Snæfellsnes Peninsula. At the tip of the peninsula we’ll find the glacier-topped Snæfellsjökull volcano that was the inspiration for Jules Verne’s “Journey to the Center of the Earth.” We’ll make a few other stops to appreciate the dreamscape-like scenery of the peninsula including at the black church of Búðakirkja in Búðir. We’ll eventually make our way back to Reykjavik where we’ll have some time to explore the city. This evening we’ll gather for a final group dinner celebrating our journey through remarkable Iceland.