Iceland magazine a4

ROUTE 1 ICELAND | WINTER 2018

TRAVEL TIPS & ADVICE

BEST PLACES TO STOP OVER

THINGS TO DO ON THE RING ROAD

Helping you survive the unpredictable weather

Where you’ll end up staying when a snow storm hits

Discover all of the tourist traps on Route 1

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CONTENTS

Reykjavik The Golden Circle Snaefellsnes Peninsula North Iceland Aurora South Iceland

p. 4 p. 6 p. 8 p. 12 p. 16 p. 20

Westjfords

Akureyri

Dettifoss & Godafoss

Snaefellsnes Peninsula

East Iceland The Golden Circle Reykjavik Keflavik

South Iceland

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REYKJAVIK

THE FIRST LOCATION YOU’LL HIT AFTER THE AIRPORT

As Iceland’s biggest city, it’s no surprise that Reykjavik is the most visited area of Iceland. The capital city is regarded as a cultural hub, including an internationally known music and art scene, and a bright night-life.

All commercial flights arrive in to Keflavik airport, 49km from the centre of Reykjavik. You can get to the city on Route 41 in less than an hour. This makes Reykjavik not only the capital city of Iceland, but the most accessible area of the island for tourists. Many visitors use Reykjavik as a base to travel Iceland, because of its location on the South-West coast, there are abundant day trips and excursions

available to the South of Iceland, where many desirable tourist locations are situated, and tours venturing out in to the night to chase the Northern Lights.

It also provides opportunities to experience Icelandic history, as it is home to the National Museum, National Gallery and an endless supply of art galleries.

Seltjarnarnes Lighthouse, Reykjavik.

“The world’s most northerly capital combines colourful buildings, quirky, creative people, eye-popping design, wild night-life and a capricious soul.” Lonely Planet The photogenic capital, is famous for its coloured rooftops, photographed from the top of Hallgrimskirkja church that dominates the skyline of Reykjavik.

Here you can stand with hundreds of other tourists taking the same photograph. Seltjarnarnes Lighthouse stands West of the city on the North Atlantic coastline, providing a glimpse of the strong forces that Iceland faces from the ocean. Through the night, you can find groups of people standing around the Lighthouse, hoping to see the Northern Lights through the light pollution of the city.

Hallgrimskirkja, Reykjavik.

Top things to see: 1. Hallgrimskirkja

Get an unmissable view of the city by taking an elevator trip up the 74.5m-high tower.

Price: adult/child kr900/100 Hours: 9am-9pm Jun-Sep, to 5pm Oct-May

2. Harpa

Reykjavík’s sparkling Harpa concert hall and cultural centre.

Hours: 8am-midnight, box office 10am-6pm

3. Reykjavik Art Museum

Reykjavik Art Museum is split over three sites: Hafnarhús, Kjarvalsstaðir and Ásmundarsafn.

Price: adult/child kr1600/free

4. National Museum Displaying artefacts from settlement to the modern age.

Overview of Iceland’s history and culture.

Price: adult/child kr2000/free Hours: 10am-5pm May–Sep Tuesday-Fri, Sep–Apr.

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THE GOLDEN CIRCLE The Golden Circle is a popular tourist route, which loops 300km starting from Reykjavik, to popular scenic locations.

The three primary stops are Thingvellir National Park, Geysir and Gullfoss waterfall.

Thingviller National Park

As the most popular tourist route in Iceland, the roads are well maintained to ensure you get to each location safely. You’ll find it very difficult to get lost, as you can follow all the other cars doing exactly the same thing.

Thingviller is a national park in Iceland. Home to the original building of the Althing, the National Government of Iceland, the park is a place of significant importance to Icelandic people.

It holds many aesthetically pleasing landscapes such as the church and penny lake, and you can also dive between the North American and Eurasian tectonic plate boundaries, which causes noticeable cracks in the landscape as continental drift pulls the landscape apart. Hopefully you won’t be among the bus loads of tourists gathering here that have no idea what they’re looking at. Þingvallakirkja (Thingviller Church)

A Geyser is a periodically spouting hot spring. Geysir is a famous Geyser in Iceland, as it is one the highest spouting hot springs in the world, reaching 122m in 2000 after an earthquake. It is now basically dormant, and can reoccur when natural disasters affect the landscape. The surrounding landscape is filled with geysers, so although you go to visit Geysir, you would be stood there for years before you saw any action.

So enjoy the smaller ones around the landscape, you won’t be able to tell the difference anyway.

Geysers, Geysir

Gullfoss, translated to ‘Golden falls’, is situated in the upper part of the Hvita River, which is fed by Iceland´s second biggest glacier, the Langjökull.

It is a popular location to get a fix of Icelandic waterfalls without having to leave the safe route, that’s if you can find a space in the car park.

Gullfoss, Hvita River

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SNÆFELLSNES PENI What to-do on the route: Arnarstapi Visit the harbour village for great views of Mt. Stapafell, and grab lunch at the Kaffi, which simply sells a meat, and veg traditional Icelandic soup.

Búðir A wooden black church that sits against a back drop of lava fields and mountains.

Lóndrangar Uniquely-formed remnants of ancient basalt volcanic shapes sticking out from the sea.

Malarrif Lighthouse A lighthouse surrounded by lava formations. Ólafsvík A small fishing town that is good for a mid-stop when driving around the peninsula.

Kirkjufell One of the most photographed mountains in Iceland, located in Grundarfjörður.

Stykkishólmur The largest town in Snaefellsnes, located in the North of the area.

Arnarstapi

INSULA The Snaefellsnes Peninsula is one of the most photographed parts of Iceland for its landscape. Providing mountains, a volcano, multiple lighthouses and rock formations, it is a very different trip from staying in the capital. Recommended for people that really want to explore Iceland, the weather can be very dramatic, which can make the drive challenging in winter. As you leave Route 1, and travel on 54, and 574 for the more adventurous, the road can become unstable, so make sure you check Road.is before you make the journey.

Malarrif Lighthouse

Malarrif Lighthouse sits in the distance of Lóndrangar, a large rock formation, creating an unique landscape. Whilst you stand on the cliff edge, being blasted by the hailing winds from the Atlantic, it provides a great photo opportunity if you can stand long enough to hold your camera.

Kirkjufell Mountain is famously photographed along with Kirkjufell waterfall.

The landscape seems idyllic, but is hardly recognisable from the main road which actually runs straight through the two parts. It’s safe to say, this landscape only looks like this from the given angle, but the mountain is on your way, so you might as well take the trip.

Kirkjufell Mountain & Kirkjufell Waterfall

Lóndrangar

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Traveller story of the week: The Snaefellsnes Peninsula is the perfect location for anyone wanting to get away from the city! Only a 2 hour drive from Reykjavik, the beautiful route guides you to relaxing fishing villages which provide excellent views of the natural landscape, and are an ideal place to stay overnight with the small local restaurants. It’s great for exploring lava fields and black sand beaches, whilst there are also so many hikes to-do for all abilities! It has to be my favourite part of Iceland, and I can’t wait to return in the summer months to hike the Kirkjufell Mountain!” S. Sanders

Kirkjufell Mountain

Stykkishólmur

View towards Ólafsvík

Ólafsvík

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NORTHERN REGION IT’S A NICE DRIVE

If the weather allows it, North Iceland can be a dream to drive through. But that’s because there’s not much to interrupt your drive, which makes it unpopular for tourists. If you want to fully explore Iceland, then take the road, but don’t expect to see much. The main tourist locations up here, are Dettifoss Waterfall, Godafoss Waterfall and the skiing town of Akureyri. Route 1 will take you to these tourist destinations, as if on pur-

pose to encourage tourists to travel North. Although Akureyri is known to Icelanders as a Skiing resort, don’t expect the buzz of a skiing holiday, as its location puts it on a very quiet path. If you continue through the town and up the hill, you’ll be rewarded with great views of the area. If you’re heading to the waterfalls, make sure you pick up some food in the town, as you won’t reach another stop for a while.

Akureyri

Waterfalls are undoubtedly one of Iceland’s biggest attractions, and Dettifoss in Vatnajökull National Park and Godafoss in Bárðardalur are no exception. Dettifoss has the greatest volume of any waterfall in Europe, whilst Godafoss has strong links with the history of Iceland, as the story states, after Law-speaker Þorgeir Ljósvetningagoði, made Christianity the official religion of Iceland in 1000, he threw his statues of the Norse gods in to the waterfall. The power of Dettifoss is interesting to see, but if you’re visiting Iceland and don’t want to take the journey, Gullfoss will do the same job to say you visited a huge waterfall in Iceland.

Dettifoss Waterfall

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Godafoss Waterfall

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AURORA BOREALIS MAKE SURE YOU HAVE YOUR CAMERA READY

Aurora Borealis, better known as the Northern Lights, are light shows in the sky. Caused by collisions between electrically charged particles which are realised by the sun, with gases such as oxygen and nitrogen in the earth’s atmosphere. The lights are seen around the magnetic poles of the northern and southern hemispheres. The most common colour to be seen is green, due to higher eye sensitivity and high concentration of atomic oxygen. If you’re lucky, you may also see red, blue or pink lights. It is said the best season to see the Northern lights in Iceland is from September to mid-April, as these months have full dark nights of up to 20-22hours per day.

Although the lights can be seen to the eye, it is very rare to see them at the intensity seen in photographs.

If you expect to see them dancing brightly, you may be very dissapointed when you see the tints of green in the sky. You’ll look at the back of your camera, and wonder where the lens is gathering these lights from, as the camera can see them far after you can’t.

The lights can move quickly, and are often faint against a pitch-dark background, which can’t be shot successfully on a point and shoot camera.

You need to know a little bit about how to use a DSLR efficiently to capture the colours in the light.

Top Tips: • • • • • • • • • • •

Use manual exposure Use shutter release, e.g. a cable or self timer to trigger shots A tripod to hold the long exposure 5 – 40 second exposure depending on intensity Take spare batteries, as the cold temperatures kill your batteries quicker Avoid using lens filters Shoot in RAW for more control post-processing Adjust your eyes to the darkness Minimal light pollution Use a good foreground location Use a full frame camera to capture more of the sky and foreground combined.

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SOUTH

THE ROAD TH

The South coast is a popular tourist trip due to its close connection with Reykjavik, and summery of Icelandic landscapes.

Glacier lagoons, waterfalls, volcanoes, black sand beaches and rock formations fill the landscape across the area of Route 1, with many being on the main road itself. For those who desire to see Iceland over a short time scale, or don’t want to travel, this is the normal route as most of the attractions can be visited in a single day trip, or if travelling further, the village of Vik is located at the end of the route. But the easy route also comes with lots of tour buses, selfies and people, which can spoil the feeling associated with such a rare landscape.

Fjallsarlon Glacier Lagoon

Diamond Beach

ICELAND

HAT SUMS UP ICELAND

The black sand beaches in Iceland, formed from basalt lava, provide excellent contrast for photographs, such as ice bergs on Diamond Beach and the Sólheimasandur plane wreck. If you follow the tourist maps and go to Jokulsarlon glacier lagoon, you’ll be greeted with masses of people. But just down the road, Fjallsarlon Glacier Lagoon is a much more peaceful experience, keep a look out for the sign. Similarly, the plane wreck is also hidden off the maps and doesn’t have a designated tourism area, but you’ll be able to find it by the body of cars parked up at the side of the road, but be prepared for a 40minute walk each way.

Sólheimasandur plane wreck

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Along the drive, Icelandic horses fill the fields. The unique breed of small horses have descended from ancient breeds of horses that are now extinct outside of Iceland, where they have been preserved in isolation. In many areas, you can rent the horses for rides along the heavy terrain, though we’d save this for summer unless you want to lose the use of your hands and feet.

Reynisdrangar.

Icelandic horse.

The famous rock formations of Reynisdrangar and Dyrhólaey, compete with those on the Snaefellsnes Peninsula. It’s a great opportunity to view how the ocean has shaped the Icelandic landscape. Take the top path to Dyrhólaey, and you can view the different formations of the landscape in one frame. If you are visiting these areas in the South-east, we recommend staying in Vik, where there are several hotels and restaurants to enjoy.

Dyrhólaey

The advantage of the scenic spots sitting within the tourist area, is that routes and paths have been made to support viewing of the locations. A steep path has been built at Skogafoss to allow tourists to walk above the waterfall, whilst at Seljalandsfoss you can walk behind the naturally formed path, but safety features have been added to make it more approachable. But this also contributes to the amount of people in the area, so dont expect a peaceful hike up a waterfall as you stop every few steps to let people past.

Skogafoss Waterfall

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FIND IN OUR NEXT ISSUE: SUMMER 2018 THE BEST SUMMER HIKES

OUR FAVOURITE ART IN REYKJAVIK

FIND THERMAL HOT SPRINGS

Any questions or tips you’d like to know? Email us at route1iceland@outlook.com

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ISSUE 1 | WINTER 2018 £3.99