Call of the Wild - Iceland
Like theUK,Icelandis positioned in the air currents of theGulf Stream, which means it enjoys a warmer climate than you might expect. Daytime summer temperatures are like a spring day inBritain. In the winter, when you can see the Aurora Borealis (or Northern Lights), temperatures rarely sink much below freezing.
Covering an area greater than the size ofPortugal, the island is bigger than many people imagine. Much of the land mass is covered by glaciers and is inaccessible. But around its coasts, especially in the south-west near the charming capital ofReykjavik, the island boasts miles and miles of stunning and accessible scenery that looks like nowhere else on Earth. A weekend getaway toIcelandreally is guaranteed to be a truly one-off experience.
As you take the coach or taxi from the airport atKeflavikintoReykjavik, one of the first things you will notice is the strange, barren, black and yellow landscape, interspersed in summer with swathes of purple. The black ground is actually fields of lava –Icelandis a volcanic land, though most of the volcanoes are tiny and underground. The black lava fields are covered with yellow moss, giving an utterly otherworldly appearance. And the swathes of blue? Look closely and you will see they are lupins in bloom. The lupins, now a distinctive feature of the landscape, were only introduced in the 20th century asIcelandbecame more inhabited, to help stabilise the soil so that crops could be grown.
Reykjavik itself is something of a one-street capital, with most of the shops and restaurants found around the little road of Laugavegur (by the way, if some of those Icelandic words seem a mouthful don't worry; nearly everyone in Iceland speaks fantastically good English). The city is rather like Keswick in the Lake District or perhapsFortWilliamin the Scottish highlands, framed by mountains and with the water never far away.
Reykjavik has a reputation as a young people's party town and, while there are opportunities to dance under the summer's midnight sun at one of the city's trend-setting night spots, the clubland atmosphere never encroaches;Reykjavik is by all accounts a quiet and friendly place and the perfect place to enjoy a long weekend. There is a good mix of restaurants on the main street – including Italian, Thai and Indian – plus lots of craft and souvenir shops. Your Icelandic adventure really begins, however, when you get out of town and hit the country.
The Blue Lagoon
Our first trip out ofReykjavikwas to the incredible Blue Lagoon, where you can bathe in warm, milky blue waters, surrounded by a landscape of black lava rock. It's an amazing experience and feels a little like being at a top-notch health spa break on the moon. The Blue Lagoon's waters are rich in minerals and bathers cover their faces in white silica mud to make an instant face-mask.
The naturally warm water comes from deep underground (where it is found at very high temperatures indeed). Similar geothermal water is pumped around the island to heat around 90 per cent ofIceland's homes. It's also used to make green electricity. There is a geothermal power plant near the Blue Lagoon site, which only adds to the surreal quality of the experience.
The reason for this naturally occurring hot water is thatIcelandis located on one of the Earth's major geological fault lines, the mid-Atlantic ridge, where the Euro-Asian and North American tectonic plates of the Earth's crust meet.
It's this geological feature that providesIcelandwith its volcanoes, lava fields andhot springs. At the lagoon, most people choose to laze around in the warm waters and relax in the unique environment. As with any good day spa you can also make use of steam rooms and saunas and, if you really want to indulge yourself, book an in-water massage. One ofIceland's top tourist draws - and the reason why so many choose it as a weekend getaway destination - the Blue Lagoon is popular all-year-round but there's plenty of space and it's hard to imagine it ever feeling overcrowded.
The Golden Circle
Refreshed and relaxed by the mineral properties of the lagoon waters, our next excursion was a full-day tour of what is known asIceland'sGolden Circle. The tour takes in giant waterfalls and steaming geysers along the way. This is what we were most looking forward to during our short break! Starting fromReykjavik, our coach wound its way eastwards across a ridge of mountains and into the spectacularPingvellirNational Park, the ancient home ofIceland's parliament.
Our first destination was Gullfoss, orGoldenFalls, which are found in a canyon where the wide river Hvítá roars its way through a chasm of rock. Gullfoss is by volume the largest waterfall inEuropeand the sheer quantity of water that plunges down the staggered falls is breathtaking. From some angles, with the cliffs obscuring the view of the water's route, it looks as if the water disappears into the ground. There are plenty of viewing points on both sides of the falls and further down into the canyon, where the air is filled with spray.
The Great Geysir
Not far from Gullfoss is the Geysir area – where ‘geysers', orhot springs, spout boiling water high into the sky. The Great Geysir's eruptions occur every five minutes or so and can be seen from the roadside, although it's worth taking the wide and well trodden path from the visitor's centre right up to it if you want to experience the Great Geysir in all its glory. As you approach the main attraction, smaller geysers bubble away to the sides of the path and steam rises out of the ground.
But the Great Geysir is the one to watch – it can spout water up to 70 metres in the air and does so without any warning at all – so be ready with your camera. OurIcelandweekend adventure was about to get even better!
If you're concerned about safety, don't worry: the area directly around the geyser is fenced off so there's no chance at all of getting scalded.
Finally, we headed through some epic scenery to a wide valley where you can experience something that usually only happens at the bottom of the sea. Again, it's all aboutIceland's unique geology. The North American and Euro-Asian tectonic plates on which Iceland lies are gradually moving apart – which means Iceland gets a tiny bit bigger every year. Usually these plates lie on the ocean floor, but inIcelandthey are visible at the surface. As the tour coach drives along the Euro-Asian plate, you can see a long ridge of cliffs on the other side of the valley – it's the North American plate. Stopping underneath these cliffs, footpaths lead up through the edge of the plate itself to a viewing point where you can see the whole of the valley sprawling in front of you. Welcome toAmerica!
Puffins, Whales and More
Although the bulk ofIcelandis still a glorious wilderness, the island was first settled over a thousand years ago by the Vikings and it has a rich history and culture. The ancient tales of Icelandic life known as the Sagas are renowned throughout the world and provide an insight into a long-gone era when early settlers fought the rough seas and snows to maintain a simple existence.
If you're on a short weekend break we recommend taking a Saga Tour of the island – it simply bringsIceland's history to life. It takes in the settings of the most famous events in Icelandic history, following in the tracks of the Viking warriors of old and the poets who recorded daily life in literature. We didn't have time for that step into the past, however, but still managed to squeeze in one more trip during our short break that again brought us up close with the natural world.
We could have chosen a beginners' session riding the beautiful Icelandic ponies that roam free across the island's plains, or even a trip whale watching: you can see Elding, Minke and Humpback whales not far off the coast fromReykjavik, as well as dolphins and porpoises – although sightings can't be guaranteed.
Instead we took a sedate, hour-long trip from theOldHarbourinReykjaviktoPuffinIslandwhere, as the name suggests, you are rewarded with a great view of a large colony of cute and fat little puffins. Puffins, apparently, eat twice their weight in fish every day – and it showed: many of them flap their little wings hard, but are simply too heavy to get up into the sky. It's a comical sight indeed.
So, what is there to do in Iceland?
Too much! But don't let this put you off booking a short break as you'll be able to fits lots in: nature, countryside, partying inReykjavik, winter views of the Northern Lights and summertime midnight sun – and that's without mentioning action-packed trips to the glaciers in a Jeep or snowmobile, or white-water rafting along a thunderous river. It's an island to suit all ages and all tastes and a real step into the wild.
Land of the Vikings
According to legend, the first people believed to have inhabitedIcelandwere a small number of Irish monks, or hermits, who arrived in the 8th century. The first settlers to make a permanent home of the island came fromNorwayin AD 874 when a chieftain called Ingólfur Arnarson built his homestead inReykjavik.
Over the following centuries Nordic people continued to arrive and settle, farming the small amount of arable land and fishing for their food. From 1262 to 1918 the island became part ofNorwayand thenDenmark.
Icelandic culture is based on its Norse heritage. The Icelandic language is also descended from Old Norse and through the centuries it has developed much less than other languages.Rather than borrow words from foreign languages (in the way that many English words are based on French ones) newer Icelandic words often hark to their native roots. Icelandic is also the only living language to retain a letter of the alphabet that is an ancient rune.
With a rich culture and fascinating natural wonders, combined with a great atmosphere and friendly people,Icelanddoes indeed make a great choice for weekend breaks.
Where to stay
For a relaxing city break, visit The Grand Hotel Reykjavik, a luxurious hotel located in the heart of Reykjavik. The Grand Hotel Reykjavik is a member of Great Hotels of the World Premium Collection. Rooms from £70. For more information or to book, please visit http://www.ghotw.com/the-grand-hotel-reykjavik or call 020 7380 3658.
For a perfect view of the Northern Lights, visit Hotel Ranga, an award-winning, 4-star hotel, surrounded by the beautiful landscape of Iceland. Hotel Rango is a member of Great Hotels of the World Luxury Collection. Rooms from £168. For more information or to book, please visit http://www.ghotw.com/hotel-ranga or call 020 7380 3658
Covering an area greater than the size ofPortugal, the island is bigger than many people imagine. Much of the land mass is covered by glaciers and is inaccessible. But around its coasts, especially in the south-west near the charming capital ofReykjavik, the island boasts miles and miles of stunning and accessible scenery that looks like nowhere else on Earth. A weekend getaway toIcelandreally is guaranteed to be a truly one-off experience.
As you take the coach or taxi from the airport atKeflavikintoReykjavik, one of the first things you will notice is the strange, barren, black and yellow landscape, interspersed in summer with swathes of purple. The black ground is actually fields of lava –Icelandis a volcanic land, though most of the volcanoes are tiny and underground. The black lava fields are covered with yellow moss, giving an utterly otherworldly appearance. And the swathes of blue? Look closely and you will see they are lupins in bloom. The lupins, now a distinctive feature of the landscape, were only introduced in the 20th century asIcelandbecame more inhabited, to help stabilise the soil so that crops could be grown.
Reykjavik itself is something of a one-street capital, with most of the shops and restaurants found around the little road of Laugavegur (by the way, if some of those Icelandic words seem a mouthful don't worry; nearly everyone in Iceland speaks fantastically good English). The city is rather like Keswick in the Lake District or perhapsFortWilliamin the Scottish highlands, framed by mountains and with the water never far away.
Reykjavik has a reputation as a young people's party town and, while there are opportunities to dance under the summer's midnight sun at one of the city's trend-setting night spots, the clubland atmosphere never encroaches;Reykjavik is by all accounts a quiet and friendly place and the perfect place to enjoy a long weekend. There is a good mix of restaurants on the main street – including Italian, Thai and Indian – plus lots of craft and souvenir shops. Your Icelandic adventure really begins, however, when you get out of town and hit the country.
The Blue Lagoon
Our first trip out ofReykjavikwas to the incredible Blue Lagoon, where you can bathe in warm, milky blue waters, surrounded by a landscape of black lava rock. It's an amazing experience and feels a little like being at a top-notch health spa break on the moon. The Blue Lagoon's waters are rich in minerals and bathers cover their faces in white silica mud to make an instant face-mask.
The naturally warm water comes from deep underground (where it is found at very high temperatures indeed). Similar geothermal water is pumped around the island to heat around 90 per cent ofIceland's homes. It's also used to make green electricity. There is a geothermal power plant near the Blue Lagoon site, which only adds to the surreal quality of the experience.
The reason for this naturally occurring hot water is thatIcelandis located on one of the Earth's major geological fault lines, the mid-Atlantic ridge, where the Euro-Asian and North American tectonic plates of the Earth's crust meet.
It's this geological feature that providesIcelandwith its volcanoes, lava fields andhot springs. At the lagoon, most people choose to laze around in the warm waters and relax in the unique environment. As with any good day spa you can also make use of steam rooms and saunas and, if you really want to indulge yourself, book an in-water massage. One ofIceland's top tourist draws - and the reason why so many choose it as a weekend getaway destination - the Blue Lagoon is popular all-year-round but there's plenty of space and it's hard to imagine it ever feeling overcrowded.
The Golden Circle
Refreshed and relaxed by the mineral properties of the lagoon waters, our next excursion was a full-day tour of what is known asIceland'sGolden Circle. The tour takes in giant waterfalls and steaming geysers along the way. This is what we were most looking forward to during our short break! Starting fromReykjavik, our coach wound its way eastwards across a ridge of mountains and into the spectacularPingvellirNational Park, the ancient home ofIceland's parliament.
Our first destination was Gullfoss, orGoldenFalls, which are found in a canyon where the wide river Hvítá roars its way through a chasm of rock. Gullfoss is by volume the largest waterfall inEuropeand the sheer quantity of water that plunges down the staggered falls is breathtaking. From some angles, with the cliffs obscuring the view of the water's route, it looks as if the water disappears into the ground. There are plenty of viewing points on both sides of the falls and further down into the canyon, where the air is filled with spray.
The Great Geysir
Not far from Gullfoss is the Geysir area – where ‘geysers', orhot springs, spout boiling water high into the sky. The Great Geysir's eruptions occur every five minutes or so and can be seen from the roadside, although it's worth taking the wide and well trodden path from the visitor's centre right up to it if you want to experience the Great Geysir in all its glory. As you approach the main attraction, smaller geysers bubble away to the sides of the path and steam rises out of the ground.
But the Great Geysir is the one to watch – it can spout water up to 70 metres in the air and does so without any warning at all – so be ready with your camera. OurIcelandweekend adventure was about to get even better!
If you're concerned about safety, don't worry: the area directly around the geyser is fenced off so there's no chance at all of getting scalded.
Finally, we headed through some epic scenery to a wide valley where you can experience something that usually only happens at the bottom of the sea. Again, it's all aboutIceland's unique geology. The North American and Euro-Asian tectonic plates on which Iceland lies are gradually moving apart – which means Iceland gets a tiny bit bigger every year. Usually these plates lie on the ocean floor, but inIcelandthey are visible at the surface. As the tour coach drives along the Euro-Asian plate, you can see a long ridge of cliffs on the other side of the valley – it's the North American plate. Stopping underneath these cliffs, footpaths lead up through the edge of the plate itself to a viewing point where you can see the whole of the valley sprawling in front of you. Welcome toAmerica!
Puffins, Whales and More
Although the bulk ofIcelandis still a glorious wilderness, the island was first settled over a thousand years ago by the Vikings and it has a rich history and culture. The ancient tales of Icelandic life known as the Sagas are renowned throughout the world and provide an insight into a long-gone era when early settlers fought the rough seas and snows to maintain a simple existence.
If you're on a short weekend break we recommend taking a Saga Tour of the island – it simply bringsIceland's history to life. It takes in the settings of the most famous events in Icelandic history, following in the tracks of the Viking warriors of old and the poets who recorded daily life in literature. We didn't have time for that step into the past, however, but still managed to squeeze in one more trip during our short break that again brought us up close with the natural world.
We could have chosen a beginners' session riding the beautiful Icelandic ponies that roam free across the island's plains, or even a trip whale watching: you can see Elding, Minke and Humpback whales not far off the coast fromReykjavik, as well as dolphins and porpoises – although sightings can't be guaranteed.
Instead we took a sedate, hour-long trip from theOldHarbourinReykjaviktoPuffinIslandwhere, as the name suggests, you are rewarded with a great view of a large colony of cute and fat little puffins. Puffins, apparently, eat twice their weight in fish every day – and it showed: many of them flap their little wings hard, but are simply too heavy to get up into the sky. It's a comical sight indeed.
So, what is there to do in Iceland?
Too much! But don't let this put you off booking a short break as you'll be able to fits lots in: nature, countryside, partying inReykjavik, winter views of the Northern Lights and summertime midnight sun – and that's without mentioning action-packed trips to the glaciers in a Jeep or snowmobile, or white-water rafting along a thunderous river. It's an island to suit all ages and all tastes and a real step into the wild.
Land of the Vikings
According to legend, the first people believed to have inhabitedIcelandwere a small number of Irish monks, or hermits, who arrived in the 8th century. The first settlers to make a permanent home of the island came fromNorwayin AD 874 when a chieftain called Ingólfur Arnarson built his homestead inReykjavik.
Over the following centuries Nordic people continued to arrive and settle, farming the small amount of arable land and fishing for their food. From 1262 to 1918 the island became part ofNorwayand thenDenmark.
Icelandic culture is based on its Norse heritage. The Icelandic language is also descended from Old Norse and through the centuries it has developed much less than other languages.Rather than borrow words from foreign languages (in the way that many English words are based on French ones) newer Icelandic words often hark to their native roots. Icelandic is also the only living language to retain a letter of the alphabet that is an ancient rune.
With a rich culture and fascinating natural wonders, combined with a great atmosphere and friendly people,Icelanddoes indeed make a great choice for weekend breaks.
Where to stay
For a relaxing city break, visit The Grand Hotel Reykjavik, a luxurious hotel located in the heart of Reykjavik. The Grand Hotel Reykjavik is a member of Great Hotels of the World Premium Collection. Rooms from £70. For more information or to book, please visit http://www.ghotw.com/the-grand-hotel-reykjavik or call 020 7380 3658.
For a perfect view of the Northern Lights, visit Hotel Ranga, an award-winning, 4-star hotel, surrounded by the beautiful landscape of Iceland. Hotel Rango is a member of Great Hotels of the World Luxury Collection. Rooms from £168. For more information or to book, please visit http://www.ghotw.com/hotel-ranga or call 020 7380 3658
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