October 11, 2019

Iceland: the Other Side of the Land

Photo by 12019

Iceland is the country of ice and magnificent pristine nature with hundreds of active geysers, mythical glaciers, remarkable waterfalls, vast black deserts, and beautiful mountains. It is the most impressive land of contrasts.  Traveling around Iceland, you can experience dazzling summer sunshine, rain, fog, and entirely white winter. Here you can experience never ending polar days and long dark nights lighted by Northern Lights, boundless peace and fantastic Moonlike landscapes. This country's natural wonders never cease to amaze.

Icelandic unearthly landscapes have been formed by the natural forces, which created deep fjords, icy waterfalls, boundless volcanic deserts, black sand beaches, and snow-capped mountains.

Relief of Iceland: Mars or the Moon

Dotted with dramatic steaming geysers, bubbling mud springs, giant craters, weird rock formations, black deserts and lava fields, Iceland offers the best settings for movies about Mars or Moon. The unearthly and gloriously strange landscapes can make you question what planet you're on.

Driving around Iceland feels like you are on a different planet, and many of these locations are not far from the capital, so you can easily be transported to a place that could be a million years ago or on a different planet.

Iceland: a country of hot geysers and icy waterfalls

Photo by 12019

There are over 200 geyser locations and more than 7 thousand boiling water sources in Iceland. 

These natural wonders attract tourists regardless of the weather and season. You can admire the dormant geyser Geysir which gave its name to this natural phenomenon, and the powerful active Strokkur just a few steps away. Geysers' eruptions are something amazing. In the first stage, the water is calm, then it immediately goes out off the ground, and in a few seconds, a strong and powerful fountain of mineral water is in the air. Some smaller geysers are just fountains of steaming water, others simply spray hot water, and others look like bubbling puddles. In spite of their wild beauty, all geysers are very dangerous to come too close.

 Iceland is also well known for is its crystal waterfalls which are among the most amazing natural objects that visitors enjoy. Huge powerful waterfalls here are the norm, spilling over at every turn. Many of them are nameless and are a part of a landscape. It's not possible to move around Iceland without spotting a waterfall. Not all of them are worth leaving the main road. However, some waterfalls cannot be missed.

The country boasts having waterfalls likely numbering in the thousands are largely climate-related. The country has lots of rain and snow, and it also has vast glaciers and mountainous landscape. Combine these phenomena, and you have a country that is just epic for waterfalls.

It's the power of the unique Icelandic nature that draws millions each year to visit the country and marvel at the landscapes which cannot be seen anywhere else on this planet. It's like the other side of the land.