Destination of the week: Iceland
It’s difficult to imagine the emptiness of a country that is as large as England, yet has a population of less than a third of a million (in comparison with England’s 48 million).
Route 1, the Ringroad, runs out from Reykjavík to encircle the island, with all long-distance buses and domestic planes beginning their journeys from the city. It may be small, but what Reykjavík lacks in size it more than makes up for in stylish bars, restaurants and shops, and the nightlife is every bit as wild as it’s cracked up to be – during the light summer nights, the city doesn’t sleep. The world’s most northerly capital also boasts cinemas, an opera, a symphony orchestra and a dance company, as well as the usual string of museums and galleries.
Reykjavík makes a good base for visiting Geysir, the original geyser that gave its name to all other such hot springs, and the spectacular waterfalls at Gullfoss. The Reykjanes Peninsula, home to the country’s main international airport at Keflavík and therefore the first sight most travellers get of Iceland, is renowned for its teeming birdlife and its whales, which are frequently spotted off the peninsula’s western tip.
Outside the relatively densely populated southwestern corner, the wilder side of Iceland begins – open spaces of vivid green edged by unspoilt coastlines of red and black sands all set against a backdrop of brooding hills and mountains. The main draw of the west coast is the towns of Borgarnes and Reykholt and the surrounding countryside, where there’s barely a feature that’s unassociated with the sagas, such as Laxárdalur, a farm where romantic and tragic scenes from Laxdæla Saga were played out.
The country’s biggest tourist attraction outside the capital is Lake Mývatn, an hour to the east of Akureyri. The lake is a favourite nesting place for many species of duck and other waterfowl and is surrounded by an electrifying proliferation of volcanic activity, including long-dormant cinder cones and the still-steaming lava fields at Krafla, which last burst forth in the 1980s.
The south coast is marked by vast stretches of black, volcanic coastal sands punctuated by tiny villages that unfortunately are prone to some of the country’s foulest weather – the town of Vík is Iceland’s wettest but boasts teeming seabird colonies. Iceland’s most rewarding hiking route can also be found in this corner of the country – the Þórsmörk trail is one of the world’s most exhilarating long-distance paths.
Just off the south coast, and easily reached by ferry from Þórlakshöfn, the Vestmannaeyjar (Westman Islands) sport the world’s largest puffin colonies and were propelled into the world headlines during the 1960s and 1970s by a series of volcanic eruptions that created a new island, Surtsey, and also threatened to bury the town of Heimaey under lava and ash.
When is a good month to go to Iceland? Simon Calder gives you the answer