Iceland in Ten Photos: Skógafoss, Kirkjufell, Blue Lagoon and Turf Houses

Iceland packs an astonishing range of scenery into one island: waterfalls that drop off old sea cliffs, turf-roofed farm buildings, a mountain shaped like an arrowhead, a milky-blue geothermal lagoon and, on dark winter nights, the northern lights. These ten photographs cover the island from the south coast to Snæfellsnes and the Vatnsnes peninsula, and each place can be worked into a real itinerary.

Turf houses and the Núpsstaður prayer house

For centuries Icelanders built with what the land provided: stone and stacked turf for the walls, timber for the gables and grass on the roof for insulation. The tiny building at Núpsstaður, on the south coast just west of the great cliff of Lómagnúpur, is one of the most famous survivors.

A church stood here as early as 1340, dedicated to Saint Nicholas. The present prayer house dates mostly from the mid-19th century and reuses materials from a church built around 1650. It measures only about 5.2 by 2.5 metres, with stone-and-turf walls some 2.5 metres thick. It was declared a protected national monument in 1930, restored by the National Museum of Iceland in 1958–60 and reconsecrated in 1961. The interior is closed to visitors, but the building and its setting beneath the cliffs are easy to see from the Ring Road.

Northern lights and the Icelandic highlands

The northern lights can appear anywhere on the island. What you need is darkness and a partly clear sky, which rules out the bright nights of summer. The Icelandic Met Office publishes a free aurora forecast with a 0–9 activity scale and a cloud-cover map, the single most useful tool for planning a night out.

The highlands are the opposite season: their mountain roads usually open only in summer, when hikers head for the green and black volcanic country between the glaciers. The trail that climbs beside Skógafoss continues over the Fimmvörðuháls pass toward Þórsmörk and links with the Laugavegur trail, one of the classic multi-day hikes in Iceland.

Seljalandsfoss, Skógafoss and Kirkjufell

Seljalandsfoss drops 60 metres from a river fed by the Eyjafjallajökull glacier, right beside Route 1 and the road to Þórsmörk. A path runs into the small cave behind the falls, so you can watch the curtain of water from inside; bring a waterproof layer.

Skógafoss, further east along the same coast near the village of Skógar, is also 60 metres high but 25 metres wide. It falls from the old coastline, now around 5 km from the sea. On sunny days the spray throws single or double rainbows, and a 527-step staircase climbs to the top. Legend says the first settler, Þrasi Þórólfsson, hid a chest of treasure behind the falls; the ring said to come from it is kept at the Skógar museum.

Kirkjufell rises 463 metres above Grundarfjörður on the north coast of the Snæfellsnes peninsula. It is a nunatak, a peak that stood above the Ice Age glaciers, built of layered lava and sandstone, and it is often called the most photographed mountain in Iceland. Game of Thrones fans know it as the "arrowhead mountain" north of the Wall. The classic view frames it behind the little Kirkjufellsfoss falls across the road.

The Blue Lagoon and Hvítserkur

The Blue Lagoon lies in a lava field on the Reykjanes Peninsula, about 5 km from Grindavík and some 20 km from Keflavík airport. It is man-made: geothermal seawater from the neighbouring Svartsengi power station flows into the lagoon after heating the local district system. The water averages 37–39 °C and owes its colour to dissolved silica. Bathing facilities opened in 1987, and today it is one of the country's most visited sights. Since 2023 a run of eruptions on the peninsula has closed it several times, so book with flexible dates.

Hvítserkur is a 15-metre basalt stack off the eastern shore of the Vatnsnes peninsula in north-west Iceland. Two arches at its base make it look like a dragon drinking from the sea. Local tradition says it is a troll who set out to wreck the Þingeyrar monastery and was turned to stone by the rising sun. Farmers once reinforced its base with concrete to stop the sea from toppling it. Keep to the path above the beach: seals haul out and birds nest nearby.

Driving between the sights

Route 1, the Ring Road, links Seljalandsfoss, Skógafoss and Núpsstaður along the south coast, all within a long day of Reykjavík. Snæfellsnes and Kirkjufell lie north of Reykjavík on the west coast, and Hvítserkur is a detour from the Ring Road in the north-west. Outside the capital, traffic is light and distances between petrol stations can be long.

Weather changes fast, especially from October to April. Check SafeTravel’s current Iceland conditions and road reports each morning before setting off.

For more of the island, see Jakub Polomski’s Iceland landscapes and Blue Racer Productions’ aerial film.

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