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    DK Top 10 Iceland
    DK Top 10 Iceland
    DK Top 10 Iceland
    Ebook407 pages2 hours

    DK Top 10 Iceland

    By DK Travel

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    About this ebook

    True to its name, DK Eyewitness Travel Guide: Top 10 Iceland covers all the country's major sights and attractions in easy-to-use "top 10" lists that help you plan the vacation that's right for you.

    See stunning glaciers and geysers or the bewitching northern lights, visit the beautiful national parks, or experience the vibrancy of Reykjavik with this newly revised, updated, and redesigned pocket travel guide. Whether you're looking for the things not to miss at the Top 10 sights or want to find the best nightspots, this guide is the perfect pocket-size companion. Rely on dozens of Top 10 lists--from the Top 10 waterfalls and the Top 10 volcanoes and hot springs to the Top 10 museums in Reykjavik and around Iceland; there's even a list of the Top 10 things to avoid! The guide is divided by area, covering all of Iceland's highlights, and packed with reviews for restaurants and hotels.

    - Brand-new itineraries help you plan your trip.
    - Expanded and far more comprehensive, the new laminated pull-out map now includes color-coded design, public transportation maps, and street indexes to make it even easier to use.
    - Maps of walking routes show you the best ways to maximize your time.
    - New Top 10 lists feature off-the-beaten-path ideas, along with standbys like the top attractions, shopping, dining options, and more.
    - Additional maps marked with sights from the guidebook are shown on the inside cover flaps, with selected street index.
    - New typography and fresh layout throughout.

    You'll still find DK's famous full-color photography and museum floor plans, along with just the right amount of coverage of history and culture. A free pull-out map is marked with sights from the guidebook and includes a street index.

    The perfect pocket-size travel companion: DK Eyewitness Travel Guide: Top 10 Iceland
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherDK Travel
    Release dateOct 1, 2024
    ISBN9780593960714
    DK Top 10 Iceland

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      Book preview

      DK Top 10 Iceland - DK Travel

      DK Top Ten Iceland. Top ten lists for your perfect trip

      TOP 10

      ICELAND

      g Contents

      How to use this eBook

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      g Contents

      KEY TO MAPS

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      KEY TO MAIN ICONS

      g Contents

      PRICE CATEGORIES

      For a three-course meal for one with half a bottle of wine (or equivalent meal), including taxes and extra charges.

      under ISK5,000 ISK5,000–9,000 over ISK9,000

      For a standard, double room per night (with breakfast if included), taxes and extra charges.

      under ISK20,000

      ISK20,000–40,000

      over ISK40,000

      CONTENTS

      How to use this eBook

      Introducing Iceland

      Top 10 Highlights

      Top 10 of Everything

      Area by Area

      Streetsmart

      Maps

      Acknowledgments

      Copyright

      g Contents

      Introducing Iceland

      Blooming lupins near Vik

      Introducing Iceland | CONTENTS

      Welcome to Iceland

      The Story of Iceland

      Top 10 Experiences

      Itineraries

      g Introducing Iceland g Contents

      welcome to

      Iceland

      Iceland is unlike anywhere else in Europe, an island of otherworldly landscapes that has been shaped by volcanoes, glaciers and the constant battle between tectonic plates. Don’t want to miss a thing? With Top 10 Iceland, you’ll enjoy the very best the country has to offer.

      Mother Nature has always had the upper hand in Iceland. One of the last places on earth to be settled, its human history comprises a brutal battle with the elements – Iceland has well earned its nickname ‘The Land of Ice and Fire. There’s nowhere better to witness this fascinating clash than at Vatnajökull, the country’s largest glacier, and Geysir, whose steaming fumaroles, bubbling mud pools and spectacular geysers tell of the volcanic furnace that seethes underground. Elsewhere, raging rivers have created some truly magnificent waterfalls, none more dramatic than Gullfoss, which cascades into a plunging canyon. Remarkably, it is easy to immerse yourself in this wild environment. At Þingvellir, where the meeting of tectonic plates has caused a great rift in the earth, you can walk, and even snorkel or scuba dive, within the plate boundary, while bathing in geothermal pools like the Blue Lagoon is the ultimate Icelandic pastime.

      For all its natural beauty, it’s impossible not to be charmed by Iceland’s human side, too. Reykjavík is Europe’s most northerly capital city, but it has the friendliness of a small town – although its bevy of theatres, bars and museums are as good as you’ll find anywhere. The tiny fishing villages and lonely lighthouses of the Snæfellsnes peninsula point to a history governed by the ocean, while the isolated setting and harsh environment has instilled Icelanders with a rich heritage of folklore and myths, best explored at places like Hólmavík’s Museum of Sorcery and Witchcraft.

      So, where to start? With Top 10 Iceland, of course. This pocket-sized guide gets to the heart of the country with simple lists of 10, expert local knowledge and comprehensive maps, helping you turn an ordinary trip into an extraordinary one.

      Embracing Iceland’s wild landscapes

      g Introducing Iceland g Contents

      The story of

      Iceland

      Volcanic eruptions, ice ages, civil war and foreign rulers have come and gone since the first hardy settlers landed here some 1,300 years ago, and Iceland has emerged one of the most prosperous and creative societies in Europe. Here’s the story of how it came to be.

      Settlement

      The first people to settle Iceland are thought to have been wandering monks, hermits from Ireland who arrived in the 8th century CE. Little is known about these hardy souls, and the only sign of their time here is archaeological evidence of a monastery, in South Iceland, and crosses carved in a nearby cave.

      The documented era of Icelandic history begins with the arrival of the Norse in 874, when, according to the Landnámabók (Book of Settlements), Ingólfur Arnarson sailed to the island from Norway. He established a farm beside a sheltered bay at a place now known as Reykjavík, and within a few decades, many other Vikings from western Norway had joined him. By the early 10th century, all the arable land in Iceland had been claimed, with a population made up of Scandinavians and their enslaved people, most of whom came from Britain and Ireland.

      Engraved illustration of Viking explorer Leif Erikson

      Commonwealth and Christianity

      In 930, Iceland’s most powerful figures, wealthy regional chieftains called goðar, gathered in the volcanic landscapes of Þingvellir in the first meeting of the AlÞingi (General Assembly), often described today as the world’s oldest continuous parliament. The AlÞingi determined the legislation that would rule the Icelandic Commonwealth, as the country was then known, and met each summer to fine-tune these laws.

      The people of Iceland at this time followed the Old Norse pagan religion, although from 980 onwards, the island was visited by a series of Christian missionaries. Growing conflict between the two beliefs was settled in 1000, when the AlÞingi declared Christianity to be the official state religion.

      The centralization of power invested in the Commonwealth weakened regional authority across Iceland, and from 1200 onwards local chieftains vied for control of the island in a period of violent civil war, known as the Sturlung Era after the most powerful clan in Iceland at that time.

      Norwegian and Danish Rule

      The King of Norway, Håkon the Old, sought to take advantage of Iceland’s fractured state and bring the island under his rule – something he eventually achieved in 1264, with the signing of an agreement called the Old Covenant.

      Life did not change much under Norwegian rule, and Iceland came under the control of the Danish crown after Norway merged with Denmark under a single monarch in 1380. Around this time, a period of global cooling caused many crops to fail, and Icelanders turned their attention to fishing. Foreign fishers were drawn to Iceland’s fertile waters, wielding such an influence within the region that the 15th and 16th centuries became known as the English Age and the German Age respectively. The latter included a nationwide religious shift in 1550 towards Lutheranism, the Protestant movement started by German monk Martin Luther.

      Between 1602 and 1854, Iceland was only allowed to trade with Denmark under the terms of the Danish Trade Monopoly, which, combined with crop failure and a catastrophic eruption of the Laki volcano in 1783, led to the starvation of a quarter of the population.

      King Håkon of Norway, depicted in a collection of psalms

      The Road to Independence

      In the mid-19th century, an independence movement began to form under the leadership of Jon Sigurðsson, now considered the father of modern Iceland. Denmark granted Iceland its own constitution in 1874 and Home Rule in 1904, when Hannes Hafstein took office as the first minister of Iceland.

      Trade slowed down during World War I and living standards declined, although Iceland was recognized as a fully sovereign state in 1918. A brief period of prosperity ended in 1929 with the Great Depression, before the outbreak of World War II saw Britain occupy Iceland in 1940; the British handed over control of the country to the US in 1941. Iceland’s split from Denmark became complete when the Republic of Iceland was founded on 17 June 1944, led by the country’s first president, Sveinn Björnsson.

      Portrait of Jón Sigurðsson, on the 500 króna banknote

      Winston Churchill inspecting troops in Iceland in 1941

      Postwar Iceland

      Occupying wartime forces had pumped money into Iceland, leading to a post-war boom – one legacy of this time remains today in the form of Keflavík Airport, which was built by the US military. Iceland joined NATO in 1949, but relations with Britain soured between the 1950s and the 1970s, as the two countries grappled over fishing rights in the North Sea – a cold conflict known as the Cod Wars.

      In 1980, Vigdís Finnbogadóttir became the first woman in the world to be democratically elected as a head of state. Iceland became a member of the European Economic Area in 1994, and a period of prosperity followed.

      Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, the first female president of Iceland

      Iceland Today

      Iceland’s banking system collapsed in 2008, leading to a financial crisis, although this quickly stabilized under the leadership of Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir, the first openly gay head of government in modern history. Tourism has played a huge role in Iceland’s economic recovery, despite the 2010 eruption of Eyjafjallajökull causing disruption to air travel across Europe. Today, visitors to Iceland are drawn by its famously tolerant society and wild landscapes: the country attracted international headlines in 2023 and 2024 with a series of spectacular volcanic eruptions on the Reykjanes peninsula.

      Introducing Iceland | The Story of Iceland

      g Introducing Iceland g Contents

      top 10

      experiences

      Planning the perfect trip to Iceland? Whether you’re visiting for the first time or making a return trip, there are some things you simply shouldn’t miss out on. To make the most of your time – and to enjoy the very best this fascinating country has to offer – be sure to add these experiences to your list.

      1Ice caving

      Ephemeral, ethereal and brilliantly blue, Iceland’s glacier caves freeze into fantastical forms each winter. The most popular tours visit the fringes of Vatnajökull National Park, where you can descend into ice caves that burrow into the heart of Europe’s mightiest ice cap.

      2Catch the northern lights

      Iceland’s dark night skies and northerly latitude make it a fantastic place to see the northern lights (see Aurora Borealis Watching). Skip the bus tours around Reykjavík and make for the countryside, where craggy mountains and glacier lagoons make a magnificent canvas for nature’s greatest light show.

      3Hike the Laugavegur trail

      Iceland’s finest hike – and that’s saying something – runs for 54 km (33.5 miles) between the lava fields of Landmannalaugar and the valley of Þórsmörk, via multicoloured rhyolite mountains, glacial rivers and snow-dusted peaks. Overnight at cosy mountain huts along the way.

      4Soak in hot springs

      Hot springs are a kind of Icelandic equivalent of a pub or bar: a place to socialize with friends, beer in hand, at the end of a hard day. The Blue Lagoon is Iceland’s most famous geothermal springs, but there are dozens of others, spread throughout the country.

      5Go whale-watching

      The waters off Iceland harbour 23 whale species, and you’ve a good chance of spotting humpbacks, minkes, orcas and even blue whales on a boat tour. Trips depart from Húsavík, Reykjavík and a couple of harbours on the Snæfellsnes Peninsula.

      6Subterranean journeys

      Journey to the centre of the earth with a trip down a lava tube – tunnels in volcanic rock, formed by the cooling of magma. You can explore Víðgelmir, the longest lava tube in the country, and Raufarhólshellir, lit up in glorious technicolour.

      7Hike wild Hornstrandir

      This finger of land at the very tip of the Westfjords is Iceland’s most remote and untouched spot (see Places to See Wildlife), and hiking through its wildflower meadows and along its sea cliffs, with only puffins and Arctic foxes for company, is the ultimate wilderness adventure.

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