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| The
geyser Strokkur erupts frequently, providing a wonderful spectacle
for all photographers. |
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| The
Blue Lagoon in Reykjanes, where the warm water attracts hordes of
swimmers and others who want only to laze about. |
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| The
glacial lagoon of Jökulsárlón, one of Iceland`s
most beautiful places. |
The "Golden
Circle" is the classic one-day tour named after the country`s
most beautiful waterfall, Gullfoss. This name means "golden
falls" as it usually sports a rainbow when the sun is shining. Thingvellir,
which is beside the lake of Thingvallavatn, is also visited. The
country`s parliament was established there in 930, a spectacular setting
below the 50m-wide gorge of Almannagjá which is widening
by two centimetres a year as the European and American continents drift
away from each other. The tour`s other major attraction is Geysir,
the (now dormant) waterspout after which all geysers are named. Beside
it is Strokkur, which sends a column of warm water ten to twenty
metres into the air every few minutes.
The "Blue Lagoon" is one of the country`s most recent
(and most bizarre) attractions and is actually a pool of (slightly salty)
run-off water from a geothermal power station. It is wonderfully warm,
bright blue in colour (due to solid particles suspended in it) and is
known to give relief to people suffering from skin diseases such as psoriasis.
The lagoon is on Reykjanes peninsula and only a short distance from the
country`s international airport at Keflavík. Tours to the "Blue
Lagoon" often visit Krísuvík, where there are
mudpools and steam vents.
Despite
its name, only 11% of the country is covered with ice but Vatnajökull
is the world`s third-largest ice-cap, after Antarctica and Greenland.
From Reykjavík, it is possible to fly to Höfn (on the east
coast) and then take a bus to Skálafellsjökull, a valley
glacier that descends from Vatnajökull. The route is up a narrow
mountain track with lots of hairpin bends — no wonder a four-wheel
drive bus is used! Once at the glacier, a snowcat takes you to a high
vantage point from which you can gaze over the glacier and down to the
sea; you can also ride on a skidoo and hurtle yourself over the snow at
50kmph (thoroughly recommended!). In the afternoon, the bus goes to the
glacial lake of Jökulsárlón where a small boat
plies its way past massive icebergs that have calved off the glacier Breiðamerkurjökull.
Once you`ve experienced all this snow and ice you`ll be ready for Laugardalur`s
hot-pots!
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