Living an Icelandic life for some days seems straight out of an Utopic dream !!
Iceland is the home to some of the stunning glaciers, phenomenal northern lights, extra ordinary lava fields, splendid black beaches, natural hot springs, marvelous waterfalls and handsome Icelandic horses.
Through my eyes, Iceland is a breathtaking alien land with mind-blowing, captivating and alluring landscapes all around with an unparalleled beauty.
The country has its own charming panorama all the year round. The summer greenery, the orange-ish fall, the white snowy icy winter and the colourful spring - all of them are surely going to leave you flabbergasted !
It was the month of September when our aircraft touched the paradise. Out of sheer excitement and in the bone chilling cold, we (group of 6 friends) hurriedly checked out of the Keflavik airport and drove the car, that we hired from a car rental, to the capital, Reykjavik.
Friend 1 - an amazing photographer
Friend 2 - the model
Friend 3 - the crazy and a lazy bum
Friend 4 - the entertainer
Friend 5 - the quintessential chauffeur
Friend 6 - the dumbest of the lot (Me)
That was just a short intro.. !!
So we reached the reign of Reykjavik within an hour after leaving the kingdom of Keflavik and our trip actually started from the next day onward.
Though a short lived voyage, we tried to cover as many places as we could in those couple of days that we had (mainly mainstream tourist areas).
We have a future plan of visiting this paradise again to explore the unexplored !!
Some of the prominent and famous tourist sites that we covered include:
1. Jökulsárlón & Vatnajökull - a breathtaking glacial lagoon which has been formed from the ice that’s breaking away from the ancient Vatnajökull glacier and is a spot for some of the famous Hollywood movies (keep guessing).
2. Black sand beach (diamond beach) - I bet you’ve never seen a beach covered with black sand before and you surely cannot afford to miss this stunning beauty when you’re in Iceland. The ice on top of the black sands gives the ice a very shiny texture, a diamond like look and hence, the name diamond beach. Friend 1 (the photographer) tried to take some really good pictures but the rain spoiled it all ! Never mind, better luck next time :)
3. Seljalandsfoss - this one is a magnificent waterfall. The best part of this cascade is that you can go behind it to witness its charm (note: you might get a bit wet but it’s worth it).
Just adjacent to this waterfall is the lesser known ravishing Gljúfrabúi waterfall and this is one of its kind and highly recommended because maybe once in a lifetime you can witness this kind of a waterfall ! This waterfall is just beautiful beyond words and can’t be explained until you see it yourself !
4. Skógafoss - another incredible waterfall is the Skógafoss. This waterfall will surely make you wonder how are these landscapes being formed ?? And will also make you realise how the formation of each waterfall differs from the other. Very famous and favourite with the tourists, this waterfall is worth a watch.
5. Skaftafell National Park - a small hike to this national park will leave you bedazzled with the mesmerising landscape all around. It has several small cascades with a famous one named Svartifoss which has a beautiful rock formation behind it. You’re surely going to regret if you’re not planning to visit this place when you’re in Iceland !!
6. Þingvellir national park - another beguiling national park which is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. A drive through this picturesque national park will show you some of the most amazing geographical formations, canyons, rapids and waterfalls. The most prominent are the iconic Gullfoss waterfall which is famed for its scale and beauty and the Geysir Geothermal Area which is home to the rare and spectacular phenomenon of geysers. Now if you’re missing this, you’re surely missing a part of your life !
Since we couldn't manage to take a proper picture of Geysir hence, I'm sharing a google link for you to take a glimpse of the famous Geysir:
https://www.google.com/search?q=geysir&sxsrf=ALeKk01Cu4E7XtZffxAu6HVF2IXkAnAf5Q:1592576490168&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiQjOXfiY7qAhUptYsKHeBRAfkQ_AUoAXoECBUQAw&biw=1707&bih=760#imgrc=jnGz5JbkvnIUAM
7. Kirkjufell - Also known as the ‘Church Mountain’, this is one of the most photographed mountains of Iceland due to its dramatic landscape. The mountain is very uniquely shaped with a perfectly located waterfall, Kirkjufellsfoss. So if you don’t wanna miss the perfect picture of Iceland, you know what to do now !
8. Blue lagoon - it’s my kind request to you not to miss this one please. You should make a prior booking before visiting this lagoon. Blue lagoon is that geothermal spa which would not only rejuvenate your body but also your soul and spirit. Once you’re here, be it in the night (entry tickets are a bit pocket friendly) or in the day, you won’t feel like leaving this place. Feeling, when you’re here, cannot be expressed in words so I would leave it up to you to feel the habitat !!
Two other places, where we visited and are worth mentioning are the small, pretty and quaint villages named Vik & Grundarfjörður.
So our trip was mainly concentrated in the south and south western part of the country.
Iceland has a vast topography with very less explored places. I did a lot of research on the less explored areas of Iceland however, couldn’t manage to traverse the entire country.
I’ve penned down my feelings, emotions and experiences of the places I could cover in such a short period of time.
Apart from all these, we were lucky enough to witness the magical and divine Aurora Borealis in a crystalline sky on a pitch dark and bone chilling night.
Iceland is an absolute masterpiece !!
Hope you’ll enjoy reading this piece !
Kindly note: I’ve used some of the pictures clicked by my photographer friend with his permission :)