For those interested in seeing amazing sights and enjoying the sense of adventure that comes with traveling to exotic locations, Iceland should be first on the bucket list. While it’s not for everyone, for those who don’t mind the cold and want to experience something totally out of the ordinary, visiting this winter wonderland is definitely a good plan, as it’s home to some of the most spectacular sights in the world. Explore with us some of the most amazing aspects of Iceland, as well as strange and unusual peculiarities that you definitely won’t find anywhere else.
Cold by day, cold by night
The first thing you should know about Iceland, and we’re sure you already do, is that it gets very cold. Not all year round it stays the same frigid temperature, but for the most part it is known that the weather is not the warmest….
This is perhaps why Icelanders have developed a tolerance that many others from sunnier countries would not be able to withstand. Some girls when out partying are especially resistant to low temperatures – better dead than simple!
Sports fans
Sports are an important part of Icelandic culture and, as you can imagine, when there’s not much to do in such a sparsely populated area, it’s important to find pleasure in entertainment.
While most countries around the world are used to showing support for their favorite sports teams, Icelanders are known to go crazy for sports and their respective national teams or athletes. It is not uncommon to see people showing their support on the streets during sports seasons or events.
Mind-blowing caves
One of the best things about all the cold weather in Iceland is that it creates a number of truly amazing and spectacular natural phenomena to behold. This is just one more of the many ice caves throughout the country.
These are essentially rocky ridges that have frozen into an icy ceiling that creates these incredibly luminescent natural structures. However, you often have to walk to reach them, so be prepared for an adventure!
Snow jams
Extreme climates such as Iceland bring with them a number of problems or curiosities that have to be taken into account when driving in such an environment.
Snow jams are one of those things to watch out for, as no one wants to be left adrift in sub-0 temperatures. It’s important to leave with an appropriate vehicle, so you don’t have to push the car later like these girls do… in mini-skirts… in the snow. So cold!
Somewhat empty towns
Interestingly, Reykjavík (the capital of Iceland) concentrates 60% total of the entire Icelandic population, which in itself is already a small number of people compared to other countries. This also means that it is not uncommon to travel around other cities only to find empty streets most of the time, as if they were ghost towns.
Quite a contrast to the overcrowded villages we are used to.
The youngest country in the world
Iceland happens to be the most recent civilized biomass in human history, since it was practically among the last ones where humans decided to settle and make it a new land to live in.
The reason is also funny: only a thousand years ago the Vikings discovered the big island by accident, and found it pleasant enough to stay for life.
Bartender, a beer
It may sound strange, but seeing beers in Iceland is a rather atypical occurrence. Why, if it’s practically the common element of any bar anywhere in the world? It is curious but beer was a prohibited item and punishable by law under Icelandic law – until just a hundred years ago.
Iceland has been slowly adopting the brewing system since it became legal, but it’s a curious case nonetheless.
Two tectonic plates
“Thingvellir” is a natural site in Iceland designated as “geographically significant” according to UNESCO: not only was it the political meeting place by nature of the Irish parliament until well into the 14th century, but it is one of only two places in the world where two tectonic plates of the Earth can be observed together (Eurasia and North America) on the surface, just a few centimeters apart.
Trees…wait, which trees?
It may seem strange, but Iceland is mostly devoid of forests, lush flora and any forest component. The reason is quite simple: when the Vikings decided to settle, they required all the wood on the island in order to build their cities, which led to the almost complete loss of all trees.
Today the Icelandic government carries out reforestation efforts, but it is still a very atypical image to find a tree wherever we are.
Super Jeeps
Due to the nature of the Icelandic terrain, one can request what are known as Super Jeeps: 4×4 vehicles modified to be able to traverse any area without much trouble.
They are quite imposing cars, and very fun to drive, so it is not unusual to be walking through the Icelandic landscapes and suddenly find some tourists (or the inhabitants themselves) at full speed in one of these mastodons.
