Iceland

The Northern Lights: the aurora borealis from September to April, when the nights are long enough — visible at a KP index of 3 or above from any dark spot 30km outside Reykjavik. The Snæfellsnes Peninsula and the Þórsmörk valley are the most dramatically positioned dark-sky aurora locations within a 2- 3-hour drive; the curtains of green and violet above the glacier are the most specifically Icelandic moment.

The Blue Lagoon in February was the most photogenic place I have ever been to. The water is 38–40°C — milky blue from the silica minerals — and in February the steam rises from the water in thick clouds because the outside air is -6°C. You are standing in 40°C water in a snow-covered lava field with steam billowing around you and the Reykjanes Peninsula volcanic landscape behind you. I went at 9 am, first entry slot. The crowd was light. By 11 am, the lagoon fills. At sunset (around 4:30 pm in February), the sky turns gold and the steam turns pink. I wish I had booked the sunset slot instead of the morning. The Blue Lagoon is a geothermal spa built into a lava field on the Reykjanes Peninsula — 20 minutes from Keflavík Airport. The water is a byproduct of the nearby Svartsengi geothermal power plant. The milky blue colour comes from silica particles suspended in the water.

The Vatnajökull ice cave tour was the most technically impressive experience of my February 2024 trip to Iceland. The guide drove us in a modified glacier truck across the glacier surface to a cave entrance — a narrow opening in blue-white ice. Inside: walls of compressed 12,000-year-old ice that are translucent blue when lit from above. The colour is not edited in photographs — it genuinely looks like that. The guide explained that the blue is from the ice compressing all air bubbles out over centuries — the more compressed the ice, the bluer the colour. I spent 45 minutes inside a 12,000-year-old object. The sound inside is a deep silence broken only by the occasional drip of meltwater. This was the most alien environment I have been in. Vatnajökull (8,100 sq km) is the largest glacier in Europe and the second largest in the world outside the polar regions. The natural ice caves inside it are accessible only from November to mid-March each winter. Season: November – mid-March · Ice caves close after mid-March as the glacier becomes unstable.

Strokkur at Geysir erupted while I was photographing the adjacent Geysir (the original, now dormant geyser that gave the word to all languages). Every 5–8 minutes, Strokkur produces a 20–30 metre column of boiling water into the air — you can see the bubble forming under the surface, feel the ground vibration, and then the column bursts. What I was not prepared for at Þingvellir was the geological scale of the Almannagjá fissure — a fault valley 7km long and 64m deep, where the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates are visibly separating at 2cm per year. You can stand on the path that runs through the fissure, and you are walking on the floor of a gap between two continents. That specific piece of information changes how the landscape around you looks. The Golden Circle is a 300km tourist route from Reykjavík covering three primary sites: Þingvellir National Park (UNESCO, site of Iceland's medieval parliament from 930 AD AND visible tectonic plate boundary), Geysir Geothermal Area (Strokkur erupts every 5–8 minutes), and Gullfoss (two-tiered 32m waterfall — in February partially frozen). Also frequently included: Kerið Crater, Secret Lagoon.

Jökulsárlón had no boat tours — the lagoon partially freezes in winter, and boats cannot operate. What it had instead was a different kind of extraordinary: icebergs frozen into the lagoon surface, the black water visible in channels between the ice, absolute silence, and three other visitors in the entire area. Diamond Beach (across the Ring Road from the lagoon) had ice chunks the size of dining tables washed up on the black sand — some blue, some transparent, some white — backlit by the low winter afternoon sun. I spent 90 minutes on that beach in February with ice forming on my jacket and took the most extraordinary photographs of my professional travel career. Jökulsárlón (Glacier River Lagoon) is a glacial lake in southeast Iceland formed by the retreat of Breiðamerkurjökull glacier over the past century. Icebergs calve from the glacier face, drift across the lagoon, and eventually wash out to sea — passing through a small channel to Diamond Beach. The icebergs range in age from centuries to millennia — some are 12,000+ years old. In summer, amphibian boat tours operate through the floating icebergs. In winter, the lagoon partially freezes, and boat tours are unavailable, but the landscape is uniquely beautiful.

Seljalandsfoss in February was partially frozen — the trail behind the waterfall was closed due to ice. I was briefly disappointed, then stood in front of the waterfall and watched the frozen and flowing sections coexist, ice formations growing around the spray, and the 60-metre curtain of water, half-ice, half-flow. It was more visually interesting than the summer version I had seen in photographs. Skógafoss in February had the same quality — enormous, impossibly wide, spray freezing on my jacket, and the staircase to the top (520 steps) leading to a snowfield with the entire South Coast visible in winter afternoon light. Reynisfjara Black Sand Beach in February had the most aggressive surf I have seen from shore — the Sneaker Waves warning signs were real. Iceland's South Coast is the most photographed single day-drive in the country: Seljalandsfoss (60m waterfall you can walk behind — only in summer; in winter the trail closes due to ice), Skógafoss (impossibly wide 25m waterfall with staircase to top), Reynisfjara (black sand beach, basalt column formations, sea stacks — the most dangerous beach in Iceland due to Sneaker Waves), Sólheimajökull (accessible glacier with guided hike), and Dyrhólaey (sea arch and puffin cliffs).

Reykjavík is a city of 130,000 people — smaller than Chandigarh — that punches extraordinarily above its size in terms of quality of life, restaurant culture, creative energy, and architectural character. The old town (101 Reykjavík) is walkable end to end in 30 minutes. Hallgrímskirkja church's concrete expressionist architecture dominates the skyline from every direction — the lift to the tower top gives the most complete Reykjavík panorama. Laugavegur Street has a concentration of quality wool clothing stores, design shops, and independent restaurants per 300 metres that would be impressive in any European capital. In February, the Christmas lights were still up. At 4 pm, when darkness fell completely, the city lit up in a way that made it feel genuinely festive. Reykjavík is the world's northernmost capital city and the base for all Iceland road trips. The city has Hallgrímskirkja (concrete expressionist church, tower lift for panoramic views), Harpa Concert Hall (geometric glass facades on the harbour, free-to-enter lobby), National Museum of Iceland, Laugardalslaug, and Laugavegur Street for wool sweaters (lopapeysa).

Snæfellsnes Peninsula in February was the quietest place I visited in Iceland — which is to say, very quiet indeed. The Snæfellsjökull glacier at the tip of the peninsula (Jules Verne set Journey to the Centre of the Earth here — the crater was supposedly the entrance) was covered in cloud when I visited, which gave the whole experience an appropriately mysterious quality. Kirkjufellsfoss — the iconic mountain-waterfall combination that appears in every Iceland photography highlight — was partially frozen and had three photographers there besides me. In July it has 200+ at dawn. The Arnarstapi coastal walk (2km, free) has sea arch formations, basalt columns, and crashing winter waves. The peninsula is called 'miniature Iceland' because it contains glaciers, lava fields, black sand beaches, fishing villages, and open moorland in one peninsula. Snæfellsnes Peninsula (180km from Reykjavík, 2-hour drive) is one of Iceland's most photogenic regions: Snæfellsjökull glacier (Jules Verne's setting), Kirkjufell mountain + Kirkjufellsfoss waterfall (featured in Game of Thrones), Arnarstapi and Hellnar coastal villages, and Djúpalónssandur black pebble beach with rusted shipwreck remains.