 Iceland, a country nominally in Northern Europe, is a large mountainous island in the north Atlantic Ocean, on the fault between Europe and North America. In a sense, it is a well-named territory, with over 11 per cent of the country covered by glaciers, but in another sense it is not, with a surprisingly mild climate and countless geothermal hot-spots. And of course the native spelling ("Ísland") is appropriate in English as well.
Iceland is a stunningly beautiful place if you enjoy strange and desolate landscapes. Lava fields, lava tubes, plains of fractured rock, ice, fire and steam. Because it is so close to the Arctic Circle (a small island to the north of the main island crosses it), the amount of daylight varies dramatically by season.
The sun sets briefly each night in June, but it doesn't get fully dark before it comes back up again. In March and September, days and nights are about equal, as elsewhere in the world. If you go in December, it's almost 24 hours of gloom or darkness. Summer is definitely the best time to go, and even then the tourist traffic is still mild. The midnight sun is a beautiful sight and one definitely not to be missed. It is easy to lose track of time when the sun is still high in the sky at 11pm. Early or late winter, however, can be surprisingly good times to visit. In late January, it is effectively light from about 10am to 5pm, prices are lower than in the high season, and the snow-blanketed landscape is eerily beautiful. |
