Snaefellsjokull

Snæfellsjökull is a glacier-capped stratovolcano rising 1,446 metres at the western tip of the Snæfellsnes Peninsula, one of Iceland’s most recognisable natural landmarks. Jules Verne used it as the entry point for his fictional ‘Journey to the Centre of the Earth’, and the mountain features in dozens of Icelandic sagas and legends. It is the centrepiece of Snæfellsjökull National Park, Iceland’s only national park that extends from mountain summit to ocean coast.

On a clear day the glacier is visible from Reykjavík, 120 km across Faxaflói bay. Closer up, the volcano’s flanks are crossed by hiking trails leading through lava fields, sea caves, and bird-cliff coastline to viewpoints of astonishing breadth. Snowcat tours drive up to the glacier summit in summer, and in winter the mountain and its surrounds offer some of the most atmospheric Nordic winter scenery in Iceland. The park also preserves unique flora adapted to the coastal lava environment.

The national park visitor centre is at Hellnar on the south coast of the peninsula. The main approach to the glacier summit is via the Jökulháls mountain track (4WD required in summer; conditions variable — check with rangers). The Snæfellsnes Peninsula can be visited as a long day trip from Reykjavík or as a two-to-three-day circular tour taking in Kirkjufell, Arnarstapi, and Grundarfjörður.