Snæfellsjökull

Snæfellsjökull is the glacier-capped stratovolcano at the western tip of the Snæfellsnes peninsula, now protected as a national park. The summit glacier sits at 1,446 metres and on clear days is visible from Reykjavik 120 kilometres to the east. The volcano last erupted around 1,800 years ago; the surrounding landscape of black lava fields, sea cliffs, and old lava tubes bears the marks of many previous eruptions.

The glacier is shrinking — satellite images show consistent retreat over the past decades — and may not survive the century. Glacier snowmobile tours operate from the base in summer with specialist operators; snow cat tours are available in winter. Several hiking trails ascend the lower slopes without reaching the glacier, passing through ancient lava flows and craters. The Snæfellsjökull National Park visitor centre near Hellnar has maps and information. In clear weather, the view from the summit encompasses the whole of Snæfellsnes and extends south to the Reykjanes peninsula.

things to do nature sight
A story
Jules Verne set the entrance to the earth's interior at Snæfellsjökull in his 1864 novel Journey to the Centre of the Earth. Professor Lidenbrock and his nephew descend into the crater — following a message left by the 16th-century Icelandic alchemist Arne Saknussemm — and emerge months later through a volcano in Sicily. The novel was written without Verne ever visiting Iceland; he based his descriptions entirely on accounts by travellers and naturalists. The glacier is also said to be one of the seven chakra energy centres of the earth, according to certain New Age traditions — a belief that draws a small but devoted stream of seekers.