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Capital: Reykjavik
Population: 395,000+
Language: Icelandic
1 – Seljalandsfoss (also above)
Seljalandsfoss is a waterfall on Iceland’s south coast that drops about 60 metres from the Eyjafjöll range over old sea cliffs, cut by waves after the last Ice Age when the sea stood higher.
At Seljalandsfoss, follow the path that loops behind the falling water into a small cave, then wade up a narrow canyon to Gljúfrabúi, a hidden waterfall nearby.
Seljalandsfoss has had its moment on screen, appearing in Justin Bieber’s 2015 video for “I’ll Show You”.
2 – Mývatn and the Northern Lights
Mývatn is a lake in north Iceland, formed about 2,300 years ago when a lava flow blocked a river valley, and its long dark winter nights make it a fine place to watch the northern lights.
Around Mývatn, walk among the lava pillars of Dimmuborgir and the pseudocraters at Skútustaðir, see the boiling mud pots of Hverir, and soak in the geothermal lagoon.
Mývatn means “midge lake”, though its midges don’t bite, Dimmuborgir served as the wildlings’ camp in Game of Thrones, and the northern lights are caused by particles from the Sun striking oxygen and nitrogen high in the atmosphere.
3 – Skógafoss
Skógafoss is a 60-metre waterfall on Iceland’s south coast, 25 metres wide, and the starting point of the trail over the Fimmvörðuháls pass between the Eyjafjallajökull and Mýrdalsjökull glaciers.
At Skógafoss, walk right up to the curtain of water at its foot, then visit the Skógar Museum nearby.
Legend says the settler Þrasi hid a chest of treasure behind Skógafoss, and the ring torn from it in a failed attempt to pull it out is kept in the Skógar Museum, while the falls star in Thor: The Dark World, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, Game of Thrones and Vikings.
4 – Blue Lagoon
The Blue Lagoon is a man-made geothermal spa on the Reykjanes peninsula, filled by water from the Svartsengi power plant, which opened in 1976.
At the Blue Lagoon, soak in the milky-blue water and smear on the white mud.
People began bathing in the Blue Lagoon’s runoff in 1981 after a psoriasis sufferer found it eased his skin, and the peninsula’s volcanic eruptions have since sent lava across its car park, held back from the lagoon by barriers.
5 – Gullfoss
Gullfoss, the “golden falls”, is a two-step waterfall on the Hvítá river in south-west Iceland, plunging 32 metres into a narrow canyon on the Golden Circle route.
At Gullfoss, follow the paths along the canyon to viewpoints above both drops, and find the memorial to Sigríður Tómasdóttir.
Sigríður Tómasdóttir famously fought plans to harness Gullfoss for hydroelectric power in the early 1900s, though she lost her court case and the lease lapsed for lack of payment, and the state bought the falls in 1945 and protected them in 1979.
6 – Reykjavík
Reykjavík, the “smoky bay”, is Iceland’s capital, where tradition says Ingólfur Arnarson settled in 874, and British troops landed there unopposed on 10 May 1940 to occupy neutral Iceland, handing over to US forces in 1941.
In Reykjavík, climb Hallgrímskirkja’s tower, see the glass Harpa concert hall, visit the Settlement Exhibition, built around a wall older than a layer of volcanic ash from about 871, and pass Höfði House, where Reagan and Gorbachev met in 1986.
Reykjavík’s story has an Irish chapter: Irish monks were recorded in Iceland before the Norse, saga tradition says the Westman Islands are named after runaway Irish slaves, and DNA studies suggest roughly half or more of Icelanders’ maternal ancestry is Gaelic.
7 – Landmannalaugar
Landmannalaugar is a geothermal area in the Icelandic Highlands, inside the Fjallabak Nature Reserve, known for its multicoloured rhyolite mountains.
At Landmannalaugar, bathe in the natural hot spring, walk across the obsidian lava field of Laugahraun, and climb Brennisteinsalda.
Landmannalaugar’s Laugahraun lava field dates from an eruption around 1477, and it marks the start of the Laugavegur trail, a hike of about 55 km to Þórsmörk usually taken over four days.
8 – Strokkur Geyser
Strokkur Geyser is in the Haukadalur geothermal field on the Golden Circle, beside the Great Geysir, which was first recorded in 1294 and gave its name to every geyser in the world.
At Strokkur Geyser, wait a few minutes for it to blast a column of water usually 15 to 20 metres high, sometimes up to 40, then walk past the steaming pools to the Great Geysir.
The word “geyser” comes from the Icelandic geysa, “to gush”, and entered English in 1780, and while the Great Geysir is mostly dormant, Strokkur erupts every 5 to 10 minutes.
9 – Thingvellir
Þingvellir is the rift valley east of Reykjavík where Iceland’s parliament, the Althing, was founded in 930 and met until 1798, and it lies on the boundary between the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates.
At Þingvellir, walk through the Almannagjá gorge to the site of the Lögberg, the Law Rock, and see the Öxarárfoss waterfall and the remains of the old assembly booths, all part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Þingvellir is where Iceland adopted Christianity around 1000, and on 17 June 1944, in the middle of World War II and in heavy rain, Icelanders gathered there to proclaim the republic.
10 – Vatnajökull
Vatnajökull is Iceland’s largest glacier and among the largest ice caps in Europe, covering about 8 percent of the country, and it’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
On Vatnajökull, walk out onto the Svínafellsjökull glacier tongue and look up at Hvannadalshnúkur, Iceland’s highest peak at about 2,110 metres.
Beneath Vatnajökull lie active volcanoes, including Grímsvötn, whose 2011 eruption cancelled about 900 flights, and its ice has stood in for other worlds in Batman Begins and Interstellar.
11 – Jökulsárlón
Jökulsárlón is a glacier lagoon on Iceland’s south-east coast that began forming in the 1930s as the Breiðamerkurjökull glacier retreated, and at more than 280 metres deep it’s the deepest lake in Iceland.
At Jökulsárlón, take a boat among the drifting icebergs, watch for seals, and cross the road to Diamond Beach, where chunks of ice wash up on the black sand.
Jökulsárlón has starred in two Bond films, A View to a Kill and Die Another Day, as well as Lara Croft: Tomb Raider and Batman Begins.
12 – Vestmannaeyjar
Vestmannaeyjar, the Westman Islands, lie off Iceland’s south coast and take their name, according to saga tradition, from the Irish slaves, the “Westmen”, who fled there after killing the settler Hjörleifur and were hunted down by Ingólfur Arnarson.
On Heimaey, the main island of Vestmannaeyjar, climb the Eldfell volcano, watch puffins on the cliffs, and look out to Surtsey, the island born in an eruption in 1963 and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
In 1627 raiders from North Africa carried off 234 people from Vestmannaeyjar, and in January 1973 the Eldfell eruption forced about 5,300 islanders to flee overnight on the fishing fleet, before seawater pumped onto the lava helped save the harbour.
13 – Hvalfjörður
Hvalfjörður is a fjord about 30 km long north of Reykjavík that became a major British and then American naval base in World War II.
At Hvalfjörður, hike to the Glymur waterfall, visit the War and Peace Museum at Hlaðir, and see Iceland’s only whaling station, on a former US Navy pier.
From Hvalfjörður, the Arctic convoy PQ17 sailed for the Soviet Union in June 1942 and lost 24 of its 35 merchant ships, the worst Arctic convoy of the war, and the battlecruiser HMS Hood used the fjord as a base in 1941.