Vatnajökull
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The Battle For Skaftafell: A New Development Threatens Our Most Cinematic Beauty
As you drive east along the south coast ring road towards Vatnajökull National Park, you encounter one of the most breathtaking views in Iceland. The long stretches of flat glacial outwash from the volcanic chains, known as sandur, unfold onto a grand…
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Video Premiere: “Serious Damage” By Sin Fang
Long-standing friend of the Grapevine and indie sadboy gone composer Sin Fang is out with a new video. Releasing the soundscape-heavy ambient album Vatnajökull in 2022, Sin Fang unveils a brand new video from the album today — premiered right here. Directed…
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Breaking Point: Fatal Ice Cave Accident Raises Big Questions For Tourism Safety
Ever since the dawn of Iceland’s tourism boom, there have been countless examples of visitors to the island making decisions that are misinformed, foolish, or downright dangerous. From people picnicking on floating icebergs to the woman who joined a search party to…
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Volcanologist Calls For Increased Government Preparation
Volcanologist Þorvaldur Þórðarson took to local radio station Bylgjan Monday morning to discuss satellite imagery showing land rise throughout the country — not only on the Reykjanes peninsula. He’s calling on the government to begin preparations for a range of scenarios, namely…
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Melting Giants: Exploring and reflecting on Iceland’s disappearing glaciers
If you’re visiting or living in Iceland, you should go on a glacier hike – as long as you still can. Because within the next 20 years Vatnajökull’s outlet glaciers will all have melted. But is this entirely true? What fascinates people…
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Magnitude 4.4, 4.9 Earthquakes Recorded At Bárðarbunga Caldera
A magnitude 4.4 earthquake was measured 4.3 km northeast of the Bárðarbunga caldera yesterday afternoon. [su_pullquote]The new Reykjavík Grapevine print issue is out! Subscribe to it in our shop or join our High Five Club to get it in your inbox. If…
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Three Earthquakes Of A Magnitude Greater Than 3 Detected At Vatnajökull
According to the latest data from the Icelandic Met Office, three earthquakes of a magnitude greater than 3 were detected just over two kilometres away from Vatnjökull, in the mountains near the glacier. [su_pullquote]You can now take walking tours of Reykjavík with…
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Grímsvötn Volcano Likely To Erupt Soon-Ish
It seems like Fagradalsfjall is not the only volcano keen to erupt at the moment. Last summer, scientists predicted a possible eruption of Grímsvötn, a subglacial volcano located under the northwestern side of the Vatnajökull ice cap. Water is accumulated in the…
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Ice Flow, Nowhere To Go: Exploring The Ice Caves Of the Vatnajökull Glacier
“Are you underwater!?” my mum’s Whatsapp pings through on the last wisp of 3G available in the Sapphire Ice Cave. I’m not–but she’s right, I could be. Carved into dimples by the wind, the intensely blue ceiling looks more like the ripples…
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GLACIERS IN ICELAND! Everything you need to know!
Where can I see glaciers in Iceland? Glaciers cover large parts of Iceland and there are countless places where you can enjoy their beauty. The largest glacier in Iceland is Vatnajökull and it covers 8% of the whole country! Other notable glaciers…
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Vatnajökull National Park Is Now UNESCO World Heritage Site
Vatnajökull National Park, the scene of nearly every fun thing to do in Iceland, is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, according to an announcement from the organisation. “This iconic volcanic region covers an area of over 1,400,000 ha, nearly 14% of…
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Iceland Thaws: The Glaciers Are Melting – What Does It Mean For Iceland?
The Okjökull glacier died in 2014. It wasn’t the first Icelandic glacier to pass away. Some estimates say that up to ten named bodies of ice have previously expired, along with countless more that were unnamed. But Okjökull was the biggest, so…
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Town Guide: Glaciers, History & Restaurants Galore In Höfn
The seaside town of Höfn in Hornafjörður is just off the edge of the main South Iceland tourist trail. Lying an hour east of Jökulsárlón, the traffic thins out as you approach through rocky outcrops, abandoned farmhouses and gently rolling farmland populated…
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In Photos: Road Tripping Through The Icelandic Highlands
As we drove through the Highlands for our recent “Into The Highlands” cover feature, we saw countless memorable places, wide expanses, mountain ranges and natural beauty spots. There were way to many to fit into the print edition, and even the online…
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Into The Highlands: A Five Day Trek Into Iceland’s Wild Interior Desert
Note: Driving in Highlands requires advance research on everything from suitable car types to weather, road conditions, prohibited practises, and river crossings. Visit safetravel.is and road.is for further guidance. The engine judders to a halt, and we step out of the van…
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Ask A Glaciologist: Are Glaciers Melting Too Fast In Iceland?
One of the arguments that the global warming deniers can’t really argue with is the grim reality of the melting of the glaciers. I asked professor Guðfinna Aðalgeirsdóttir from the Faculty of Earth Sciences at Háskóli Íslands to tell me more about…
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Green Light For National Park In The Highlands & Vatnajökull, Questions Remain
After several high-profile campaigns in recent years from Icelandic celebrities and environmental agencies—including the Björk and Andri Snær Magnason-fronted ‘Protect The Park’—the Icelandic government has set up a council to found a new National Park in the Highlands. The park would include…
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Where Was It Shot: Westlife – “What About Now”
Alright, does anyone remember Westlife? Yes, the Irish boy band that released dozens of cheesy love songs you grew up with. Aww or eww? Either way, here’s a fix for your millennial nostalgia: Westlife released a song called “What About Now” in…
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Finally Jökulsárlón Becomes A Nature Preserve
The icy lagoon Jökulsárlón will become a protected area and turned into a nature reserve that is part of the Vatnajökull National Park, reports RÚV. Last winter, the government bought land that covers part of the lagoon and Jón Geir Pétursson, department…
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News In Brief: Costco, Counter-Terrorism & Unsustainable Tourism
It seems like we can never get enough of Costco updates, mostly because what this company is doing seems unfathomable and no more real than a ‘Game of Thrones’ episode. This week, Costco has in fact lowered their gasoline prices by offering…
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2016 In Travel: Small Towns, Ice Caves, Volcanoes, Islands
To look back on Grapevine’s year in travel, we decided to first go the empirical populism route, and drew up a list of the most clicked, liked and read stories we published in 2016. The first noticeable pattern was that our…
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On The Road: Sandfell Öræfi
Of all the things Iceland is famous for, trees are not among them. Most Icelandic trees are shivering, skinny things, with branches close to the trunk, as if trying to cling to the ground through the gale-force winds of winter. But the…
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Photos: Inside Vatnajökull’s Majestic Ice Caves
Our intrepid photographer Art Bicnick recently took a drive around Iceland’s frozen southern coastline, coming back with a treasure trove of images. One of the stops was the Vatnajökull ice cave, also known as the “crystal cavern.” “We had about a 30-minute…