Travel Guide

Places To See

Geysir

Geysir is the original spouting hot spring; all the others around the world are named after it. The Great Geysir debuted in the 14th century, blasting a jet of water up to 80m (262ft) into the air. By the 1950s tourists had clogged it with rocks and rubbish, thrown in an attempt to set it off. The geysir ceased erupting and was mostly inactive for decades.

Since earthquakes in 2000, it has begun erupting again two or three times daily. Nearby, the world's most reliable geyser Strokkur (the Churn), spouts up to 35m (115ft) and erupts every six minutes or so.

Gullfoss

Iceland's most famous waterfall tumbles 32m (105ft) into a steep-sided canyon, kicking up a sheer wall of spray. The spectacle depends on what the weather is like. On sunny days the spray creates shimmering rainbows over the gorge and Gullfoss can seem simply magical. On grey, drizzly days the falls retreat into the mist and can be slightly underwhelming.

The site was once slated for sale to international bidders for hydroelectric development, but has since been purchased by the government and set aside as a national monument.

Hallgrímskirkja

This immense concrete church looms over Reykjavík like a set from a Norse opera. With a 75m (246ft) steeple flanked by concrete representations of volcanic basalt columns, Hallgrímskirkja is visible from 20km (12mi) away. Admire the elongated, ultrastark interior; then for an unmissable view of the city, take an elevator trip up the tower.

Outside, a statue of Leifur Eiríksson, the Viking explorer who first discovered Vinland (modern-day America), gazes proudly forth. It was a present from the USA on the 1000th anniversary of the Alþing (Parliament).

Skaftafell National Park

Europe's largest national park encompasses a breathtaking collection of peaks and glaciers and is the country's favourite wilderness: 160,000 visitors per year come to marvel at thundering waterfalls, twisting birch woods, and the brilliant blue-white Vatnajökull icecap - Earth's largest icecap outside the poles, weighing in at 3000 billion tonnes.

Expansion plans are underway - eventually, Skaftafell and Jökulsárgljúfur will join to form one 15,000km sq megapark - 40% of the entire country.

There are walking trails, tours and accommodation available in the area. There's also a very helpful visitor centre which shows a cool film about the 1996 jökulhlaup (glacial flood) in peak season.

Blue Lagoon

Iceland's most famous geothermal pool, the Blue Lagoon, is the country's top tourist attraction. It might be crowded and expensive; but there's nowhere else like it in the world.

Hidden in black lava between the airport and Reykjavík, this huge, milky-blue spa is fed by mineral-rich heated seawater. Add to this weird scenery the silvery towers of the nearby geothermal plant, rolling clouds of steam, and people daubed in white silica-mud, and you might be on another planet. When you've finished floating round the spa with a silly smile on your face, you can investigate the extras: hot pots, saunas and steam rooms, and a piping hot waterfall that delivers a powerful hydraulic massage (imagine being pummelled by a troll). If you want proper spa treatments, professional masseurs can knead out your knots (book well in advance). There's a bar-restaurant with spa-side seating and a shop selling Blue Lagoon products.

Events

The largest nationwide festival of the year is Independence Day (17 June), a time of colourful parades, street music and dancing, outdoor theatre and general merriment. Other nationwide celebrations include: Sjómannadagurinn (first week in June), which is dedicated to seafarers and has participants competing in swimming contests, tugs-of-war and sea rescues; Midsummer (24 June) - tradition has it that Midsummer Night's dew possesses magical healing powers and that to roll in it naked will cure 19 different health problems; and Sumardagurinn Fyrsti (the third Thursday in April), a carnival-style celebration of the first day of summer. Among the local festivals is Pjóðhátíð (August), an earth-shaking event of immense bonfires, outdoor camping, dancing, singing, eating and getting uproariously drunk. Elsewhere in Iceland Verslunarmannahelgi (August) is celebrated with barbecues, horse competitions, camping out, family reunions and excessive alcohol consumption.

Pre-Departure Information

When to go?

Every year after 31 August, someone puts on the brakes and Icelandic tourism grinds slowly to a halt. Outside the capital, many hotels, hostels and camping grounds close; bus services are severely reduced or stop completely until May or June the following year; the interior highlands become inaccessible; and even the puffins fly off and the whales swim away. But Iceland's amazing scenery never shuts down. If you're prepared for short, dark days and icy weather, there are still plenty of bus tours from Reykjavík, and extra wintry delights to see, such as the ethereal Northern Lights.

Travel Visa Overview

Western Europeans and citizens of the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore and at least two dozen other countries do not require visas. Tourist stays are granted for up to three months and can be easily extended at local police stations.

Electricity

220V

50Hz

Electrical Plugs

European plug with two circular metal pins

Health Information

Hypothermia

Hypothermia is something you want to be aware of if you're trekking in Iceland. It occurs when the body loses heat faster than it can produce it and the core temperature of the body falls. It is frighteningly easy to progress from very cold to dangerously cold due to a combination of wind, wet clothing, fatigue and hunger, even if the air temperature is above freezing. If the weather deteriorates, put on extra layers of warm clothing immediately: a windproof and/or waterproof jacket, plus wool or fleece hat and gloves, are all essential. Have something energy-giving to eat and ensure that everyone in your group is fit, and feeling well and alert. Symptoms of hypothermia are exhaustion, numb skin (particularly toes and fingers), shivering, slurred speech, irrational or violent behaviour, lethargy, stumbling, dizzy spells, muscle cramps and violent bursts of energy. Irrationality may take the form of sufferers claiming they are warm and trying to take off their clothes. To treat mild hypothermia, first get the person out of the wind and/or rain, remove their clothing if it's wet and replace it with dry, warm clothing. Give them hot liquids - not alcohol - and some high-energy, easily digestible food. Do not rub victims: instead, allow them to slowly warm themselves. This should be enough to treat the early stages of hypothermia. The early recognition and treatment of mild hypothermia is the only way to prevent severe hypothermia, which is a critical condition.

Weather Information

Despite its name and latitude, warm Gulf Streams keep southern Iceland snugger than many a central European country. Summers are pleasant but don't make particularly enviable postcards, with average July temperatures around 12°C (53°F). Winters, however, are significantly blunted and while fresh enough to put some rose in your cheeks, it will not be freezing them solid. The higher altitudes and northern coast face early-year Arctic winds so are naturally colder. Snow turns to rain around spring but is never too heavy.

History and Culture

Culture

Iceland's rugged terrain has forged a resilient and independent culture, fashioned over the years by the descendants of the farmers and warriors who fled the tyranny of medieval Scandinavia. Their flight to a new and empty country resulted in the building of sturdy settlements and farms, and the beginning of a rich literary tradition dominated by the sagas - fact-based accounts of struggles, battles, heroics, religion and occupations - which are considered the finest of all Western medieval works. The country has also thrown up some significant contributors to modern literature, with Halldór Laxness, Iceland's best known writer, awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1955. Traditional music - usually cowboy songs and tear-jerking lullabies - remains popular, while giddy international success has greeted the Sugarcubes' former lead singer, Björk. Icelandic cuisine is quite modern, incorporating fresh fish, and other seafood, as well as lamb. If you can bear to eat those cute little characters, puffin appears on almost every restaurant menu on the island of Heimaey; and many gourmet restaurants serve guillemot (svartfugl).

Pre-20th Centure History

Iceland's first inhabitants were Irish monks, who regarded the island as a sort of hermitage until the early 9th century. They were followed by Iceland's first permanent settlers, who came from Norway. This was the Age of Settlement, traditionally defined as the period between 870 and 930, when political strife on the Scandinavian mainland caused many to flee.

After their run-ins with royalty in Scandinavia, Iceland's settlers were in no mood for a monarchy and opted instead for a parliamentary system of government. A district assembly and Alþing (National Assembly) were founded, and a code of law prepared. Iceland became a Christian country in 999, which engendered some semblance of national unity at a time when squabbles were arising among its leaders and allegiances were being questioned. The country flourished during the next century, and established a thriving agrarian economy with little unrest.

Iceland then became a launching pad for explorations of the North Atlantic: Eric the Red, who grew up in Iceland as the son of a Norwegian exile, colonised Greenland in 982, and Eric's Icelandic son, Leif Eriksson, is popularly held to be the first European to explore the coast of North America - which he named Vinland the Good. One of the more reliable Icelandic sagas, however, suggests that Leif Eriksson learned of Vinland from another Icelander, Bjarni Herjolfsson, who had sighted it some 14 years earlier. Whatever the truth is, these voyages of exploration became the source material of one of Europe's great literary flowerings.

The first literary tradition to emerge was poetry, which tended to be heroic in theme. Poetry was displaced during the Saga Age of the late 12th to late 13th centuries, when epic and dramatic tales of early settlement, romance, dispute and the development of Iceland were recorded. These provided both a sense of cultural heritage for Icelandic commoners and entertaining yarns on bitterly cold winter nights.

By the early 13th century, the enlightened period of peace that had lasted 200 years came to an end. The country entered the infamous Sturlung Age, a turbulent era of political treachery and violence. The opportunistic Norwegian King Hákon Hákonarson promptly stepped in, and Iceland became a Norwegian province, plundered mercilessly. To add insult to injury, the volcano Mt Hekla erupted in 1300, 1341 and 1389, causing widespread death and destruction. Recurring epidemics also plagued the country, and the Black Death struck Norway in 1349, effectively cutting off trade and supplies.

At the end of the 14th century, Iceland was brought under Danish rule. Disputes between church and state resulted in the Reformation of 1550, and the imposing of Lutheranism as the country's religious doctrine. Throughout the next two centuries, Iceland was crippled by rampant Danish profiteering, beset by international pirates and subject to an increasing number of natural disasters.

Modern History

Denmark's grip on Iceland was broken in 1874 when Iceland drafted a constitution and was permitted to handle its own domestic matters. Iceland was released from Danish rule in 1918, making it an independent state within the Kingdom of Denmark, with Copenhagen retaining responsibility for defence and foreign affairs. However, in 1940, Denmark was occupied by Germany. Iceland realised that the Kingdom was in no position to continue overseeing its affairs and, a year later, requested independence. It was granted on 17 June 1944.

After the occupation of Denmark and Iceland's declaration of sovereignty, the island's vulnerability became a matter of concern for the Allied powers. In response, British and US troops moved in; the last US troops left in September 2006. The Brits incurred Icelandic wrath when they refused to recognise Iceland's expanded territorial fishing rights in the 1970s. For a few years, stoushes between Icelandic gunships and British warships during the so-called Cod Wars became a regular feature of the fishing season.

Recent History

In recent years, Iceland's economy has been looking shaky: fishing quotas have been cut back, the krónur has devalued, and inflation rates are the second-highest in Europe. The American military base, a large employer in the southwest, closed down in September 2006. In an attempt to generate some hard cash, the Icelandic government has recently sanctioned several major industrial schemes, driven by hydroelectricity from the country's many glacial rivers. The largest and most controversial is the Kárahnjúkar project, which will power an aluminium smelter owned by the US company Alcoa. A large area of Iceland's eastern wilderness is currently being flooded to create a reservoir for the project, and the smelter will be operational in 2007.

Another recent environmental upset may affect the all-important tourism industry. In October 2006, despite international pressure, the Icelandic government voted to resume commercial whaling. The hunt began with all speed, and to date several endangered fin whales have been killed. It's an absolutely bewildering decision - only around 1% of Icelanders eat whalemeat; the export market is tiny; and commercial whaling is likely to generate just a fifth of the income from Iceland's highly popular whale-watching tours.