We knew that we just had to experience it while on our recent trip to Iceland, so there aren’t many places in the world where you can do that. In this post, you’ll find everything you need to know about glacier trekking in Iceland.
We traveled to Iceland with Icelandic Mountain Guides on their Glacier Walk and Northern Lights Tour, allowing us to walk on the ice, see some of Iceland’s most renowned waterfalls, and finish the day hoping to glimpse the northern lights. To learn when you should go to Iceland for the Northern lights.
We were picked up by Tinna at 11:30AM, and we set out for Sólheimajökull Glacier, which is only a 2-hour drive from Reykjavik.
The weather in Iceland changes rapidly during the winter, so we don’t advise you to go alone unless you have prior experience with snowy and icy conditions. If you want to visit Iceland in the winter, check out this guide on South Iceland in the Winter.
We first visited the Skogafoss Waterfall, which is one of Iceland’s most powerful. We arrived at Sólheimajökull Glacier, where we were equipped with crampons, a helmet, a harness, and an ice axe after a short drive.
Our guide, Tinna, informed us what to anticipate on the ice and how to stay safe before we set foot on the glacier.
We were confident and safe in the hands of Icelandic Mountain Guides, who have more than two decades of expertise navigating Iceland’s ever-changing topography.
We went on our glacier tour a little later in the afternoon, and we found that most other tour groups had completed their excursions and were heading back to the ice.
It was a fantastic sensation to know that we had the glacier entirely to ourselves as we gazed upon it in front of us.
We followed in Tinna’s footsteps as we ascended the glacier, and the journey itself was simply breathtaking. In lovely blue hues, we were surrounded by a variety of glacier formations.
Glacier trekking in Iceland is available all year, but the glacier may change considerably throughout the season, making it look quite different in the summer than it does in the winter. The walk was neither difficult nor impossible to complete for people of all ages if they are able to walk for approximately 3 hours.
If you’re worried about your skills, contact Icelandic Mountain Guides ahead of time and they’ll do everything they can to make the trip suitable for you.
Tinna was incredibly knowledgeable; we were disappointed to discover that the glacier is melting rapidly due to climate change, and it appears considerably different than it did just a few years ago. It’s countries like Iceland, with such a diverse and distinctive landscape, that serve as a reminder of the devastating effects of global warming.
We just admired the view and took pleasure in the complete silence as we reached the top. As the sun began to set, we began our descent down the glacier.
After we’d gotten to the bottom, we ate a traditional Icelandic dinner in a local restaurant.
The sky was now totally dark, and we kept our fingers crossed in the hope of seeing the mythical Northern Lights. Tinna drove us back to Reykjavík several times so that we could study the night sky for the all-powerful aurora borealis, but luck was not on our side.
It didn’t detract from our fantastic day with Icelandic Mountain Guides, who went above and above to make sure our glacier trek was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Is Iceland on your travel bucket list? Here are some fantastic places to stay, as well as a breakdown of how much a trip should cost. If you’re planning a holiday to Iceland, keep reading.
We’d like to express our appreciation to Icelandic Mountain Guides for the opportunity to experience their Glacier Walk and Northern Lights Tour. As usual, all thoughts are our own.
Last updated: 21/10/2021
