Iceland

Iceland earns its reputation for drama at every turn. It sits atop the Mid-Atlantic Ridge where the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates are being pulled apart at a rate of 2.5 centimetres per year. The result is a landscape in constant geological flux: volcanoes that erupt without warning, geysers that pulse on schedule, lava fields still young enough to look freshly poured. This is a country where the planet’s interior is unusually close to the surface.

The statistics of Iceland’s terrain are staggering. The country has more active volcanoes than any other European nation, more geothermal features than any place outside Yellowstone, and glaciers covering 11% of its total land area. The interior, accessible only in summer, is a raw highland plateau of obsidian desert, steaming vents, and rhyolite mountains coloured in ochre, pink, and green that seem to belong to another planet. Landmannalaugar, at the heart of this highland, is one of the most astonishing landscapes on earth.

Route 1 circles the country’s perimeter in roughly 1,332 kilometres. No other drive in Europe packs comparable scenery into a single loop: the South Coast’s waterfalls and black beaches, the East Fjords’ remote fishing villages, the North’s Mývatn volcanic lake and Dettifoss (Europe’s most powerful waterfall), and the Snæfellsnes Peninsula in the West where Jules Verne set the entrance to his journey to the centre of the earth.

Iceland’s accommodation is evolving beyond the standard hotel. Geodesic dome cabins on glacier lake shores, converted lighthouse keepers’ cottages on remote peninsulas, and farmhouses that wake to the sound of the Arctic Ocean are now available to those who plan ahead. The best properties in the south offer in-room aurora alerts during winter, a notification that sends guests scrambling to their terraces in the small hours, which is exactly where they want to be.

Aurora viewing in Iceland is a matter of statistics and patience. Clear skies, geomagnetic activity, and dark locations away from Reykjavík are all required. The Reykjanes Peninsula, the Westfjords, and the area around Akureyri in the North consistently deliver the best conditions. The light itself, green ribbons shifting to purple and white across the sky, is something no photograph fully captures.