I travelled to Iceland in March on a trip to research a couple of stories. While the stories tell of two different but (I think) fascinating sides of Icelandic life, these images perhaps give a better taste of the natural beauty from the sparsely populated north of the country, where neighbours may live a hour away and a village marked on the map often signifies no more than half a dozen houses.
My stories: One was on the huldufolk, the ‘hidden people’ of Iceland, for the National Geographic Traveller blog; the other was about the way that farmers use geothermal heat to grow vegetables in a harsh Arctic environment – this was for BBC Travel (UK readers won’t be able to access the site, but a pdf version is here)
Farm stays – a good way to see rural Iceland and great places from which to look for the Northern Lights
Talking of which… a mild aurora over Myvatn. We were lucky and saw displays like this for five consecutive nights
Everywhere we stayed had a hot tub. This one required a fast dash across the farmyard in a bitterly cold wind
Icelandic roads in March looked a lot like this (in the north at least) – seeing another car was a rare event
This car was stuck in the middle of a lake near Husavik and wasn’t likely to be going anywhere soon…
Roads in Iceland are often long and straight, although some obstacles have to be avoided
Dettifoss, one of Iceland’s mighty waterfalls. Apart from a group of passing snow-mobilers, we were completely alone by this natural wonder
The area around Myvatn is one of the most geothermally active in Europe. It’s the place to see fumaroles, bubbling mud pools and ‘enjoy’ the strong sulphur smell
In small settlements, barely worthy of the name village, you can find these bold examples of Icelandic architecture
In a land where almost every hour brings a mix of rain and sun, there is no shortage of bright rainbows
I am going to Iceland this weekend! If the weather is good, it’s gonna be awesome!
Enjoy it Abhi – I hope you get lucky and see the Northern Lights too!
I was in Iceland in July. My new favorite place on Earth!
It’s an amazing country, Iceland!
Iceland, one of the best tourist destination!
Iceland looks stunning, it has rather harsh natural wonders but is so beautiful at the same time. Would love to visit one day…!
Only one question – HOW did that car get stuck in the lake?! Picture #5, from top.
Now that is the question we were left wondering too Peggy
oh my! I would love to see the northern lights as well! I never thought Iceland is this great! thank you for the pics:-)
In November, I am going to Iceland for the THIRD time! First trip was the Golden Circle…second was the complete Ring Road (for my 50th) and now I will be staying in Reykjavik, at my friend’s home, for 5 days. She and I became penpals in the early 80′s and it is through her that my knowledge and now LOVE of Iceland began. She enjoys her visits to the USA, too!! Loved this ‘article’ and the photos……I love to travel, write, and take photographs…..how does one go about making $$ from these passions?
Beautiful photos! I never thought that Iceland is this magnificent. Made me think to visit it one day
Beautiful photos, Andy. I wish I could have seen the aurora when I was there.
Did you manage to try some Hákarl (decayed shark meat) when you were there?