20 magnificent places in Iceland

20 incredible places in Iceland

Without a doubt, Iceland is one of those countries that you have to visit before you die. If you are a nature-lover, Iceland won't leave you disappointed: glaciers, fjords, waterfalls, lakes of warm water, black sand beaches, craters, volcanoes. In addition to that, this country brings out your more adventurous side: traveling by car, rucksack on your back, camping, the cold, warm, wind and storms. I was lucky enough to be able to stay for 10 days there, so here I am going to tell you about all of the places which I visited. After this post, I will then upload another with tips for travelling to Iceland and how to get the most out of your next trip. I'm not going to go on any more, so here are the 20 must-see places in Iceland, if one day you are lucky enough to visit it:

1. Gullfoss

Let's get off to a strong start with Gullfoss. I think that in Icelandic, "Gullfoss" means "golden waterfall". This name really suits it as for me it is one of the jewels of the Island. Without a doubt, it's amazing the waterfall I was the most amazed by due to it's size. We had seen many photos beforehand and for me, after having been there in-person, they don't do it any justice. When you see a photo, it's difficult to tell how big it actually is in real life. For this, you need to have a reference scale. For example, note the size of the people who are next to the waterfall. You will realise that they are tiny, practically invisible in comparison with the amount of water coming down from the waterfall; which is a staggering amount. There's so much that there is a security barrier surrounding the waterfall, and if you go up close to it, you will end up completely soaked, so a decent raincoat wouldn't go amiss. For me, it is a must-see location.

2. The geysers.

They are relatively close to Gullfoss so you definitely have to see them. They are in quite a large area and each one is surrounded by fences. You have to be careful not to get too close, because getting burnt by the water they let off is no joke. The atmosphere here is very strange: everyone is around a geyser waiting for the water to shoot up and out. And then when it finally does, everyone claps. The thermal water that comes out is not very nice at first, but then you get used to the "smell" of the sulphur, which is really similar to rotten eggs. This smell was constantly there on our trip and now that I look back on it, I even miss it, because it is something unique to Iceland and it really makes you feel like you are in a place on Planet Earth which is almost unique, and that you probably won't have another chance to see an area like this.

3. Vik

One of the best landscapes that I have seen. It is one of the few places we went to that had a beach, so it was quite special for me. To me, it seemed like an inhabitable area, untouched, as there were hardly any people there. The black sand beaches in Vik, that contrasted against the white foam that the waves from the sea left, were incredible. When I went there was so much wind and cold, which made this place seem even more wild to me. Also, in this area there are not many tourists because it is a bit further away from the other places where more tourists go to. I would say that here, there are more adventurers than tourists. Here I'll show you some photos that I took that day. Without a doubt, the Vik beach is one of the most famous. I had seen so many pictures of this area with it's famous giant rock in the middle of the beach. We were lucky enough to go up via car to a really high cliff-top from which you could see Vik Beach. Just here I came across a pretty white lighthouse, which was a contrast to what a stormy day it was. I loved this place and to this day I still don't have the words to describe it. If one day I go back to Iceland, I will do it again and come back here.

4. Dyrhólaey

Just along from this light-house, if you go towards the cliff-edge, you can see this marvel of a rock which forms an arc in the lower part of it. It is called Dyrhólaey, in case you don't want to miss out on seeing it. It is a bit hidden, despite being so big, so you have to go through the whole line of cliffs to find it. We knew that it was here so we went looking for it, but if you don't know that this rock formation is in the area you won't notice it. Even more so if it is windy, rainy and cold, as under these conditions you only seem to see the essential things, and go back to the car before you get swept away. In addition to that, you have to go by car up the mountain to be able to see it from the cliff-top, and walk quite a lot. Despite having been there during with not very nice weather conditions, when the weather is like this, you get to see the most wild side of this country.

5. The Blue Lagoon.

Talking of thermal water and the smell of sulfur, another unmissable spot to see is the famous lake which has blue water. It is kind of like a spa, where you buy a ticket and you can go in for one or two hours. The surrounding areas of the lake are also spectacular as it is surrounded by old lava fields that have solidified. In the middle of the lagoon there is a bar where you can get something to drink; juice, beer, a wine and then enjoy it whilst you relax in the water. If not, you can always get something to eat in the restaurant at the entrance, which has views of the lake; located where you buy the tickets and where the changing rooms are. The only negative thing about this place is that it is a tourist hot-spot so there are quite a lot of people there. It could be one of the most famous tourist attractions in Iceland. Saying that, it's worth going to and it is relatively close-by to Reykjavik.

6. Skogafoss.

It is one of the most famous waterfalls in the whole country. Despite not having any particular stand-out features, it is my favourite one. Before going, I had seen so many photos and bigged it up a lot in my head, and when I finally had it in front of me... It was incredible and it even exceeded my expectations. The cool thing about Skogafoss is that you can go up by the mountainside which surrounds the waterfall which brings you to where the water falls from, and you come across the big river that brings this flow of water. We ate in a restaurant that was close-by and tried the Icelandic food. It was cool because we were eating whilst looking at the waterfall, and now, two years later, I still have this image imprinted in my memory. By the way, generally in all the tourist areas in Iceland, you are not allowed to use drones and there are lots of signs warning you about this. It surprised me because nobody took any notice and used them anyway. In the same way that drones are forbidden, there are other paths that you are not allowed to walk on, but despite that the tourists still go on them, because you can see the best views from those ones.

7. Thingvellir

It is one of the places with the most history in Iceland, in addition to having a National Park. It is a valley where one of the oldest parliaments in the world was founded. This place is also special because you can see the fault-line which separates the Eurasian and North-American tectonic plates. To find out all of the history, you can get hold of a tourist guide that will explain everything with you with all the details and some interesting facts too. It is full with groups who stand in each important spot of the valley to find out its history. If you prefer to go more at your own pace, there are informative posters all over the park. It is close to Reykjavik, so it was one of the first places that we visited on our journey around Iceland.

8. Oxararfoss

All of this stuff, along with a quite strange waterfall that you will come across during the journey called Oxararfoss, makes this Natural Park a magical place. The truth is all of these natural surroundings make me think of all the fantasy books and films that I've seen, like "The Chronicles of Narnia" or "The Lord of the Rings". The landscapes that they describe in their paragraphs or the pictures of Sam and Frodo going towards Mount Doom remind me of this landscape so much, especially when they crossed Rohan. In addition, being before such a big landscape makes you feel like a little hobbit whilst you're walking through the valley.

9. Seljalandsfoss

The other 'foss' of Iceland. It is one of the most unique ones, as just where the waterfalls falls there is a pretty big passageway behind it, a water-logged walkway which allows you to walk behind the huge amount of water falling down. Put on your raincoat again and go through it. You will end up soaked, but it is in moments like these where you can really feel the magic of Iceland and it's nature. This is also an unmissable place to visit. The only negative thing about these really famous places is that there are so many tourists that just go there to take photos, not to enjoy the landscape. For example, when I was there I saw some pretty unbelievable things. There were tourists that had gone there dressed in wedding attire, with really pompous dresses to take their photos for their "big day. " It was a bit ridiculous because everybody else goes there wearing jogging shoes, sports trousers or dressed like they're going off to war. You can imagine what the wedding dress ended up looking like. At the start of the photoshoot it was white, but it ended up being completely brown. In addition, it was quite funny to see her walking with heels on because they were getting stuck in the mud and so it was difficult to move, like being stuck in quick-sand. Therefore, this image contrasted a bit with the surroundings, so in a way a bit of the magic was lost.

10. Glufrafoss

Very near to Seljalandsfoss, there is a hidden waterfall. You have to go through an opening to find it. You will end up even more wet, but it's worth it. It seems like you are coming to the end of the world because there are wind currents and the water splashes you in the face. You can't see clearly what's in front of you and you have to go along supporting yourself on little rocks so that you don't get your feet wet. Finally, when you get to the end of the opening and the walk now isn't as narrow, you can see the waterfall falling from above. I was lucky enough to spend some time alone here, as because it is difficult to get to there are hardly any people. I went there without my phone or camera because to enjoy the moment even more. Just when I went to go, a woman came and I asked her if she would take a photo of me with her phone. She e-mailed it to me from her phone and here it is. It's a permanent memoir of one of the most intense moments of my trip.

11. The Snæfellsnes Peninsula

Here there are so many places where you can stop off, sometimes we even parked our car in the middle of the street because we saw a place that we liked and strangely, it wasn't on a map nor in the guide books, like this place where the main features are its basaltic rocks. If you only visit Iceland for a few days and are going around with a tight schedule, this area could be quite interesting, as it is a small area with lots of different things to see. As its name entails, it is a peninsula that consists of going from one point to the other.

12. On the journey, we came across an opening that gave way to a large cave.

We took a long time to get to it because it was quite far from when we parked the car and the terrain was all up-hill. In the cave, there were quite a few people who were trying to get to the highest point. We did what we could and the truth is that it was quite amazing to be inside and hear the constant sound of the water. I am really sorry that I can't give you a name or location, but stumbling across this unknown site was one of the surprises that we got from this trip. The best thing to do is to explore for yourself.

13. Arnastapi

This was one of my favourite places, and it's because it had the sea, and the sea always adds a little extra to any place. It is an area full of impressive cliffs and green nature, which contrasts with the blue colour of the sea. The best thing is walking across the whole coast, looking at the coloured houses, stone beaches, lava fields, and cliffs with unique shapes like this one, which inevitably reminded me of Dyrholaey, so this arc is very unique. Take care walking here because the ground is deceiving and when I went, there was quite a lot of wind and it could be dangerous. At the same time, it was sunny and everything was so pretty. The good thing about Arnastapi is that it's not really well-known so there are not loads of tourists clowning around for photos. It is all really calm. You can see locals coming here simply to have a walk and connect with nature.

14. The giant

At the entrance to Arnastapi, we came across a stone sculpture in the shape of a giant. It is a really original sculpture, which is located at the start of the hiking route for the whole peninsula. This giant is a character who represents a part of the mythological culture that guards this country. Here is the photo of it:

15. Midgja

We also came across Midgja there. Here we took one of the most incredible photos from the trip, those that motivate you to travel and to go to unknown places. The two from here above are of Sandra and I crossing some kind of bridge, which was quite narrow, so you have to be careful, but just below you can see the sea hitting against the coast, and again, basaltic rocks. It is a magical place, almost impossible to describe.

16. Kirkjufell

Another famous site is the Kirkjufell mountain (I love the sound of its name). It is really close to the main road so it won't take you long to get here. You can find the best view from the waterfall that is on the other side of the mountain. Without a doubt, it is one of the most original mountains that I have seen due to its shape, it seems like someone has built it with their own hands. When I went, there were lots of professional photographers settled there with all of their photography equipment, in order to get the best picture of the mountain. When I went there was no snow, it was completely green, and honestly, I think that the mountain completely covered in white is even more incredible.

17. Go for a dip in a thermal water-hole.

We were lucky enough to go for a dip in one. We were alone in the middle of nature, in the freezing cold, but when we went into these natural waterholes it was incredible. They are very famous in Iceland. There are a few all over the country. My advice is that you find a map which they are all marked on, with name and location. It is honestly a unique thing to do that you will enjoy a lot. Saying this, when getting out get dressed quickly, because the cold can end up being unbearable. We were lucky to go in on a sunny day and at least that warmed us up a bit. I would re-do this experience 1, 000 times.

18. This same day we also saw the steam vents.

Again it smelt of rotten eggs, but we didn´t care nor mind. There was a large area full of steam vents and you walked through the smoke that they had let out. Looking at the photos, they could give you the impression that it was hot, but the truth is it was quite cold and we were constantly in our winter coats. There are honestly places in Iceland where it feels like you are on a different planet to Earth. The landscapes are totally different to anything that I, for one, had ever seen and it was all very new for me.

19. Reykjadalur

This area was also occupied with a type of thermal river which you could go in. It's called Reykjadalur. There were wooden walkways you could leave your things on, and something similar to a changing-room so you could get changed. It is all very well set up, honestly. It wasn't overcrowded and the atmosphere was cool and chilled, but we had to continue on with our trip, so we didn't get out our towel or bikinis because we had to carry on with our route.

20. Finally, this impressive glacier...

Once more, this wasn't part of our route. I just looked it up on the Internet and it's called Mýrdalsjökull, impossible to pronounce. It was something that we discovered unexpectedly. It seemed so amazing to us that we decided to park the car and walk to see it closer-up. The people that were walking around us were very well-prepared, with shoes designed for walking in the ice and coats for extreme conditions as well. I liked this glacier because it was a different place to all of the other ones that we had visited, plus it being a surprise find made it even better. Not everyone likes surprises and unexpected twists during their trips, so to slip away from the plan can end up being a disaster... But when I think of surprises like this, I would like for them to happen more often. I decided to put this as my last place as it shows the great diversity of different landscapes that Iceland has to offer.

And these are the best places that I visited when I was in Iceland, the land of Ice and Fire, as they say. By the way, did you know that they filmed some scenes from the series Game of Thrones" in Iceland? We couldn't go because they were more towards the North and we were quite far away, but if you are fans of the series, you should go. By way of conclusion, this trip was the most different trip that I've ever experienced in my life. I am a die-hard fan of nature so I was as happy as a little kid in a candy shop. Without a doubt, if you have the chance to go, you should do it because it is an unparalleled experience. Iceland is a country which invites you to explore, to start a new journey and discover new places. I would repeat it a thousand times over.

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