If you’re a sports nerd like myself, then you love a good power ranking. Yes, this is just a top 10 list, but Power Ranking just sounds so much more baller, doesn’t it? This will be a common feature on this site as I think it’s helpful to get a good overview of a country by seeing where its top sites are located. Without further ado, let’s discuss the top sites in Iceland and where they fall in the power rankings.
Iceland is one of my favorite countries in Europe. It is small but packs a heck of a punch. Therefore, I think Iceland’s Power Rankings could go toe to toe with that of any country in Europe. On this list, you’ll find glaciers, geothermal areas, waterfalls, a geyser, a lava field, and a national park. You see, unlike other countries in Europe, Iceland’s beauty is rugged, visceral, dangerous. It’s unyielding and demands that you accept her on her own terms. Nonetheless, all of these sites I saw with my family, including my two young boys. So literally anyone can see these sites. Below you will find a Google Map showing the locations of these areas. After that, I’ll describe every area in more detail.
Kerlingarfjoll
Kerlingarfjoll is a remote geothermal area located among a clutch of rhyolite mountains smack dab in the middle of the country in the heart of the Highlands. This area’s recipe for awesomeness combines vivid hues of orange, pockets of ice, and bubbling pools of water and mud. Honestly, my words cannot do it justice. Just look at the photo above. It really is worth a thousand words.
Yes, it’s very hipster of me to have my top site as the one hardest to reach. I apologize for that, and I’ll own it. Nonetheless, you should see this site. The over the top rough roads and remoteness feels like an appropriate baptism. A site this beautiful should be this hard to reach. You will need a 4×4 and a whole day to reach this area, so I recommend making a visit here a part of your travel day to get from North Iceland back down to South Iceland.
Dettifoss
According to the tourist marketing copy, this waterfall is the most powerful in Europe. I don’t know if that’s true, but I know what is: this is the most impressive waterfall I’ve ever seen. Set in a remote, desolate valley, this waterfall just feels intimidating, unrelenting. It’s not a “pretty” waterfall that gently tumbles over a cliff. It seems to punish the cliff, attacking it without remorse.
Admittedly, it is hard to reach, just like Kerlingarfjoll. Yeah, I’m a jerk for doing that…probably. But I promise you the effort is worth it. This is one of the 3 sites in my top 10 that are located in the North. The next site is just down the road.
Whale Watching from Husavik
I’ve always loved whales. The sheer absurdity of whales has always fascinated me. These huge, air breathing mammals plying the depths of the ocean. There just seems to be something majestic and mysterious about these creatures that will always captivate me. Suffice to say, when I discovered that Husavik is one of the best places in the world to view whales I made sure we added it to our family’s itinerary.
There are two primary companies that operate whale watching cruises. We chose North Sailing. They routinely average in the high 90’s percentile chance of seeing a whale. Our experience was right on the money. We saw about 6 to 10 different humpback whales. None of them breached (meaning jumped out of the water), but we saw them surface to breath and show their flukes to dive down deep. Just a once in a lifetime experience to see these creatures in the wild.
Snaefellsnes Peninsula
I highlighted several sights on the peninsula in my first site review post for Iceland. That post is linked in the header above. So I’m cheating a little bit here as this is an area and not a site. There’s not a single, huge, showstopping site on the peninsula. But the area is so compact and chalk full of things to see and do that cumulatively I think it is a very strong contender and should be on everyone’s Iceland itinerary. Additionally, the peninsula’s “fist,” Snaefellsjokull National Park, has a particularly high concentration of attractions.
Seljalandsfoss
Dipping down into the southern part of the island, we find our 5th place entry in the power rankings. Seljalandsfoss, unlike Dettifoss mentioned earlier, is a “pretty” waterfall that seems directly out of central casting. While certainly not the most powerful waterfall on earth, what it lacks in punch it makes up for in location. The water dives over a sheer cliff. However, unlike most cliffs, this one turns into something like a cave as it approaches ground level. Short story long, you can walk behind this waterfall! Being able to get a complete, 360 degree view of a waterfall is simply spectacular and unique.
Solheimajokull
Only 30 minutes away from Seljalandsfoss, you come to a nondescript parking lot next to a rather average looking river/lake. This parking lot belies the fact that you are within a 15 minute walk of, in my opinion, one of the best sites in Iceland and #6 in our power rankings. After taking the aforementioned short walk, you are posited in the face of the glacier Sólheimajökull, an outlet glacier of the icecap Mýrdalsjökull. Yeah, I don’t know how to pronounce any of these names either.
The fact that this glacier is easily accessible is amazing. But that’s only half the story. You can actually walk directly onto the glacier, completely free. Granted, you should NOT venture too far onto it without a guide or crampons (spiked shoes). But you absolutely can walk onto the foot of the glacier and honest to God be walking directly on a glacier with your whole family as we did. Wild times!
Strokker
Number 7 in our power rankings is actually part of a larger tourist attraction. Strokker is the crown jewel of a collection of geysers named….Geysir. Truth be told, all geysers in the world are named after the OG Geysir. This is a site on the well trod and well marketed “Golden Circle” route. So you will not be alone. Nevertheless, a visit here is totally worth it. Strokker erupts every 6 to 10 minutes thereby practically guaranteeing you’ll see at least one eruption while you’re here. There are other geysers in the area, but most are not active at all or so sporadic that you can’t predict an eruption time. Nonetheless, a visit to the entire area is worth it just to see Strokker blow it’s top.
Jokulsarlon
Reflecting upon my power rankings, perhaps I put too many sites on this thing that are hard to reach. I’ll have to apologize to my dozens of readers. But I digress. Jökulsárlón is a glacial lagoon at the foot of Europe’s largest icecap Vatnajökull. There’s a veritable glacial superhighway that empties into this thing. Truly incredible to behold. As an added bonus, you can take a ride on a “duck boat” (you know, those things they use in Boston tours) in the lagoon to see the miniature icebergs floating lazily along.
Nearby, there’s also the famous “diamond beach” that you’ve undoubtedly seen on the ‘gram. This is where pieces of glacial ice wash back up onto a black sand beach in surreal & beautiful fashion. Unfortunately, when I went there, I didn’t see any ice pieces, so I struck out. Finally, there’s another glacial lagoon down the road named Fjallsárlón. Fjallsárlón is the smaller brother but equally as beautiful and significantly less crowded.
Svinafellsjokull Secret Road
Number 9 is in the neighborhood of Jökulsárlón, but you won’t find it on any tourist map. Svínafellsjökull is one of the 30 outlet glaciers for Vatnajökull. While there is an “official” parking area and viewpoint for this glacier, I discovered that if you take an unmarked road off the Ring Road it deposits you at the face of the glacier. Truth be told, I tried to add this location to Google Maps but they rejected it. Ha! Anyway, if you take this road you will likely find yourself alone, eye to eye with a massive glacier tumbling down the mountainside. We discovered this late in the day after visiting the aforementioned glacial lagoons, so we didn’t linger in the area longer. But I would recommend spending more time here on your visit.
Leirhnjukur
Leirhnjúkur rounds out our power rankings. Jumping back North, we find this truly remarkable site in the Krafla valley just northeast of Myvatn. To be honest, the view from the parking lot didn’t engender a lot of confidence that this would be an incredible site. The long, flat approach to the site did not give any clues to the treasures that lay beyond. Once we reached the beginning of the site, we were greeted with the bright, otherworldly orange that’s a trademark of Iceland’s geothermal areas. If that’s all there was, this site wouldn’t make the top 10.
But if you venture beyond this area, further away from the parking lot, you are richly rewarded. Unfolding below you in a vast, seemingly endless plain is black lava as far as the eye can see. According to somewhere I read, the area is the size of Manhattan. I can believe it. The sheer size is breathtaking. But wait! there’s more. The lava is still steaming. No joke. It’s not geothermal activity as the steam does not have that trademark sulfuric smell indicative of geothermal areas. Hiking on still steaming black lava is a surreal and wonderful experience that should be a part of any visit to Iceland.