20 min.
Iceland on the road (powered by Spotify)
Iceland is well known all over the world as the land of ice and fire. Created by a process of emersion of the oceanic floor, this place offers the possibility to observe the pure and uncontaminated beauty of a raw primordial nature. This obviously makes it to be considered like a paradise for landscape photographers.
However, if you want to be out of the main touristic schemes, here are some advice we can give you:
CAR RENTAL AND INSURANCE
It all starts from the car you decide to rent. Chose an off-road car and include any kind of insurance; this will let you free to experience Iceland in its plenty, avoiding any kind of unpleasant inconvenient. Don’t be scary about driving off-road, the main part of the road are well tracked even if you’ll drive on gravel and dangerous ones those are well marked on the maps.
Do not forget the navigator! It’ll be incredibly useful even if you are requested to write coordinates on it instead of the common address.
MUST SEE PLACES
On the maps below are shown some of the place you could not miss in an hypothetic round trip. Be free to chose the ones who interest you!
Here is a brief description of the places you can’t miss:
– Into the glacier (64.69919 N, -20.86854 E)
As its noun seems to claim, Iceland is a land dominated by ice. Here some of the biggest glaciers of the entire world have their house and you’ll surely see some of them. If you’d like to live an unforgettable experience you’d better not to forget this kind of adventure. You’ll learn something more about glaciers and icelandic mineral history, while walking into a real moving glacier. The experience is nearly a must!
– Ytri Tunga (64.80274 N, -23.08031 E)
Ytri Tunga is a paradise for seals. Located in the western part of Iceland this little corner of heaven is considered as home for three species of cute seals.
– Búðakirkja (64.82177 N, -23.38454 E)
Búðakirkja is an unique black church you’ll meet on your round tour. Take a break here and look at the wonderful landscape in front of you!
– Husavik ( 66.04568 N, -17.34608 E )
Husavik is an harbour city only an hour away from Akureyri ( we strongly reccomend a visit also this lovely town, called ‘the capital of the North’ ). Apart from the astonishing lanscape you can admire from there, this city is mainly known for its fisher soul that today offers to tourist a lot of different activities, born with the aim to contrast whale catching in order to protect marine environment. Tourist are given the opportunity to see a lot of whales specimens, includings minke whales, narwhal and killer whales. This experience is quite amazing and deeply touching, you won’t forget it so easily! Isn’t the weather so fine?… No problem, in the city centre there is also an extraordinary museum about these gentle giants, one of the few animals to feel familiar emotions.
We suggest you to book a tour in advance if you are interested, especially during the high season.
– Myvatn ( 65.57088 N, -17.0347 E )
Myvatn lake is the favourite place where to spend holidays for icelandic people. You’ll surely find it in every kind of tourist guide you are following. This huge lake has been formed in the caldera of an old extinguished volcano and it is the perfect description of this crazy land, a country originated by fire and headed by ice and water. Here you can appreciate an amazing landscape while having a rest from your tiring trip. Unfortunately, there are a lot of mosquitoes there (as you can see in the pic) and you’ll probably find it very annoyIng. So, wear adequate dresses and use repellent to eliminate the problem.
– Hverir ( 65.64091 N, -16.80931 E )
If you are passionate about Jules Verne adventure ‘Journey to the centre of the earth’ this place will be perfect to stimulate your fantasy. Here the internal part of the earth and its surface are directly in touch, making this place to be an open air museum for geologists and for all the people who’d like to know something more about our planet origins. A burned earth and a lot of solfataras will welcome you and you will believe to be finished in the hell, but you’ ve just started your visit in this magic place. You definetly have to insert it in your road trip, you won’t regret it!
– Viti volcano ( 65.71757 N, -16.75492 E )
Viti volcano (‘Viti’ means ‘hell’ in icelandic) is located only some minutes away from Hverir. In this place you can have a walk on the side of an old volcano, appreciating the view from its top, it seems to be on Mars!
P.s. if you look at the horizon, you can notice what remains of the last great eruption of this volcanic site, you can follow those lines and discover how lava had spread all over the flat land.
– Dettifoss ( 65.81466 N, -16.38457 E )
Dettifoss waterfall is the biggest waterfall in Europe and it is really impressive if seen closely. This amazing giant offer you the possibility to appreciate the real power of uncontaminated nature. It really deserves a visit!
– Seyðisfjörður ( 65.26141 N, -14.01052 E )
This little town, with its unpronounceable noun is located on the east coast of Iceland, in the first part of a long fiord. Born as a fishers settlement this place has become an important port city from where all the ships start their travel toward the others nordic countries. In spite of this commercial attitude, this place still preserve some typical buildings. We highly suggest it to you because of its pretty turquoise church, but also for the amazing road you have to follow to reach this place. It is really incredible!
– Jökulsárlón ( 64.07844 N, -16.23055 E )
Jökulsárlón is surely my favourite place in Iceland and even one of the best in the world. Everyday , in an atmosphere of mistery and happiness, some new icebergs finally find their birth and get ready to start their travel all around the ocean. The lagoon is the home of icebergs coming from the Vatnajökull glacier and it offers you the possibility to see these gems of ice and to know their secrets. A lot of activities can be joined along the lagoon sides and we highly suggest to do that. You’ll be brought so close to the icebergs that you’ll discover the infinite amount of chromatic tones that ice can have. Moreover, you’ll see the point where glacier meets the lagoon with an incredible 40 metres high icy wall
– Diamond beach ( 64.07844 N, -16.23055 E )
Diamond beach is located directly near to the estuary of Jökulsárlón lagoon. Here, little portions of transparent ice coming from the sea icebergs remained stucked in the dark sand creating an incredible contrast, really similar to an astonishing diamond lace or bracelet. Preserve a bit of time to appreciate this unique spectacle which become even more beautiful during warmer hours, when the light is perfect and the sun set directly in fron of you, in the ocean.
– Kirkjufjara beach ( 63.40291 N, -19.10577 E )
Black sand and amazing sculptures of rock, this is what you’ll find exploring this unique place, where elements have dominated for centuries and they still maintain their leadership. In addition, if you are lucky enough you’ll see the cute artic puffin who loves to built its house on these cliffs. Take your camera and capture its beautiful and extremely cute profile. Another sight has become a real mecca for people looking for adventurous experiences, a military plane wrech abandoned on the black sand of one of these beaches. It was Saturday Nov 24, 1973,when a United States Navy Douglas Super DC-3 airplane was forced to land on Sólheimasandur’s black sand beach in the south of Iceland after experiencing some severe icing. Are you ready to start this treasure hunt?
– Skógafoss ( 63.53205 N, -19.51137 E )
Skógafoss is totally different from the waterfalls I’ve mentioned in this article. The main difference is due to the fact that this is the only one which could be seen from below. Because of this it gives you the possibility to experience directly how strong is nature and how little we are if compared with it. If you’d like to have a more traditional view of the waterfall and you also want to find a good point to admire the landscape a ten minutes trail will bring you to the top of the cliff. I probably consider this one as the best of the entire Iceland.
– Gullfoss ( 64.32233 N, -20.11933 E)
Gullfoss is probably the strangest of the icelandic waterfall. In this place tons of water seem to disappear in a hole, dig in the black basaltic rock, vanishing in a cloud of white water drops. It can be seen from kilometres, and its sound is definetly unforgettable. If you want you can walk around this giant waterfall appreciating it from every point of view.
– Goðafoss (65.67466 N, -17.53733 E)
Goðafoss is quite similar to the biggest waterfall we are used to see in the continent, but it is amazingly romantic, especially during sunrise and sunset. When the sun is ready to disappear its warm light makes the water to be gold and the waterfall becomes the perfect place for lovers.
– Geysir ( 64.31037 N, -20.30236 E )
Geysir is essentially a geyser, this is the noun given to this amazing volcanic event, and it is a real historical sight for Iceland as it is the first one to be discovered in Iceland. With its 70 metres of high it was one of the tallest of the entire world. Unfortunately today the old giant is not as powerful as it was, but a new one called Stokkur is quickly getting its place. The explosions take place every two or three minutes and they can reach up to 40 metres high. The spectacle is quite amazing! One of the main problem of the area is that it is really busy so, if you can, you’d better to go there during the first hours of the morning or in the last ones of the day. You’ll surely appreciate that!
– Geothermal areas
A road trip around this wild land could be extremely tiring especially for those ones who are not used to join this kind of adventures. If you want to have a rest we highly reccomend to enjoy one of the infinite type of geothermal areas that cover icelandic soil. In particular, we suggest you two places: the first is well known nearly all over the world , it is quite expensive and touristic, but it offers a unique luxurious experience. Have you guess at its name? It is the Blue lagoon ( More info ) , located in the southern part of the island, really near to Reykjavik. On the other hand, the second one is less expensive, less luxurious and mainly used by local people . It is located on the north coast, near Myvatn lake, and its name is Myvatn nature baths ( More info ). The benefical properties of this blue water derived from the high percentage of sulfur inside it. These will make your skin really soft and pure, offering you the opportunity to appreciate a bit of relax.
P.s. if you wear silver laces or bracelets, please remember to remove them because the sulfur is quite aggressive.
– Reykjavík ( 64.12652 N, -21.81743 E )
Reykjavík, the capital of Iceland, is a deeply nordic city in all its aspects, from the food to the work timetables, from the habits to the unique style of its buildings. These nordic roots are the base on which the entire town has been built; a 210.000 inhabitants settlement located in the southern part of the island ( the northern part is nearly inaccessible during the winter) that has preserved the real viking atmosphere. Starting from the main church, the Hallgrímskirkja, all the city has the shape of the wild and raw natural landscape of Iceland. In addition to the church, we suggest you to visit the famous harbour (where a commemorative sculpture inspired by old viking boats deserve a visit) and to eat the best hot dog of the world ( bbp ) in President Clinton’s opinion. The city is really small and you can dedicate only one or two days to visit it, loosing yourself into the colorful city centre, where a good smell comes from the numerous bakeries mixed with design boutiques and sport apparel shops revealing you the real soul of this amazing island, where time seems not to have passed.
– The northern lights
There is a single desire that is common to almost all the traveller who decide to visit this rude land, a unique bond beetween earth and space… I’m talking about the northern lights! This spectacle, which derives from the interaction beetween solar winds ( that brings a lot of charged particles ) and the external part of atmosphere, results in an amazing explosion of colors in the dark sky of cold nights. Starting as a series of weak green flashes, it quickly evolved into a concert of chromatic tones (mainly green, blue, light blue or yellow in this part of the world) which seem to dance an old mysterious rhyhtm. This is really breathtaking! Unfortunately, due to the changeable weather conditions this event is quite hard to see. You can find some reliable informations about your possibility to see it here:
Here is the complete map and a suggested round tour:
PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS
Batteries: Replacement batteries are quite necessary in Iceland. Low temperatures and the huge amount of shots will stress your camera causing a quick decrease of batteries level. Remember to bring some replacements if you don’t want to regret it.
Rain protection: Even weather is quite variable in Iceland. In order to protect your photography equipment from these extremely changeable conditions you’d be better to protect it with water repellent covers.
Drone: Using a drone in Iceland could be a unique occasion to experience the real power of your ultratech device. This island isn’t really crowded and this allowed you to use it nearly everywhere. You’ll catch incredible aerial pics, like the ones have made this country famous all over the world.
Massive storage device: Due to the great quantity of photos you’ll take, I suggest you to take into consideration the idea of bringing some massive media storage where you can save your pics. This will limit the risk of loosing something and will be useful also to organize your shots, makes it easier to edit them as soon as you come back.
Telephoto lens: Iceland is also very rich in wildlife; from whales to puffins and seals this country is a real source of inspiration even for animal photographer. Unfortunately these animals aren’t used to human presence and this can bring them to escape. If you want to capture them you definetly need a telephoto lens, you won’t regret to have bring this heavy lens.
by @phil.cino
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