Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
survival against the elements over the centuries
has also made them a highly self-reliant nation,
whose former dependence on the sea and
fishing for their economy was virtually total.
Their isolated location in the North Atlantic
also means that their island is frequently
forgotten about - Icelanders will tell you that
they've given up counting how many times
they've been left of maps of Europe -
something that deeply offends their strong sense
of national pride. For all their self-confidence,
though, Icelanders can initially seem reserved
- until Friday and Saturday nights roll around,
when the
bjór
starts to flow and turns even the
most monosyllabic fisherman into a lucid
talkshow host.
FACT FILE
•
Though geographically as big as
England, Iceland's
population
is tiny
- at barely 310,000, it's no bigger
than many towns in other countries.
Two out of three Icelanders live in
and around the capital, Reykjavík.
•
Iceland sits atop the
Mid-Atlantic
Ridge
, the fault line where two of
the Earth's tectonic plates are slowly
drifting apart; as a result, Iceland is
getting wider at a rate of roughly
1cm per year. Either side of this ridge,
from the northeast to the southwest,
earthquakes
and
volcanic
activity
are commonplace.
•
There are no motorways or railways
in Iceland. The country's only main
road, the
Ringroad
which
circumnavigates the island, was
completed in the 1970s following
several unsuccessful attempts to
bridge treacherous glacial rivers on
the south coast.
•
Iceland is home to the third-
biggest
glacier
in the world,
Vatnajökull, covering an area equal to
that of the English county of
Yorkshire. One of the country's
greatest sources of
geothermal
energy
, the Grímsvötn caldera, sits
directly beneath the icecap.
•
Thanks to the existence of
countless medieval documents,
many Icelanders can trace their
ancestors back to the time of the
Viking settlement
, around 800 AD.
Low
immigration
over the centuries
means that today's Icelanders have
one of the purest gene pools in the
world, providing an invaluable
research opportunity for scientists.
Where to go
Inevitably, most people get their first taste of
Iceland at
Reykjavík
, rubbing shoulders with
over half the country's population. It may be
small, but what Reykjavík lacks in size it more
than makes up for in stylish bars, restaurants
and shops, and the nightlife is every bit as wild
as it's cracked up to be: during the light summer
nights, the city barely sleeps. Reykjavík also
makes a good base for visiting
Geysir
, the
original geyser, the ancient parliament site of
Þingvellir
, spectacular waterfalls at
Gullfoss
and
the famous and sublime
Blue Lagoon
.
Beyond Reykjavík, Route 1, the
Ringroad
,
runs out to encircle the island, and the wilder
side of Iceland soon shows itself - open spaces
of vivid green edged by unspoiled coastlines of
red and black sands, all set against a backdrop of brooding hills and mountains. The
west coast
is dominated by the towns of
Borgarnes
and
Reykholt
, both strongly
associated with the sagas, while the
Snæfellsnes Peninsula
, with views of the monster
glacier at its tip, is one of the country's most accessible hiking destinations. Arguably
Iceland's most dramatic scenery is found in the far
northwest
of the country, the
West
Fjords
, where tiny fishing villages nestle at the foot of table-top mountains.
Ísajörður
is the only settlement of any size here and makes a good base from which to strike out
FROM TOP
EYJAFJALLAJÖKULL ERUPTING; SEALS AT JÖKULSÁRLÓN
