Journey to the centre of nowhere... The Snæfellsnes Peninsula, jutting into the North Atlantic, is quintessential Iceland - starkly beautiful, with dramatic coastline, moss-covered lava fields and a brooding volcano sitting at its western tip.
Journey to the edge of Iceland
There's more than a touch of mystical about the Snæfellsnes Peninsula; a fact not missed by the authors of the epic medieval Norse Sagas, or Jules Verne, who had his classic Journey to the Centre of the Earth begin with a descent into the crater of Snæfellsjökull volcano itself. The region was also the birthplace of Leif Eiríksson, the first European to reach America, some 500 years before Columbus was born.
The subtle scent of sulphur
In the long summer days, when the sun hardly sets, there are plenty of outdoor activities to choose from on the Snæfellsnes Peninsula: fishing for sea trout or river salmon, riding, sea kayaking, whale-watching, hiking or snowmobiling on the glacier-topped volcano that dominates the skyline - and plenty of daylight hours in which to enjoy them. What's best of all, though, is sitting back, breathing in the bracing sea air, and catching the odd whiff sulphur drifting by on the breeze, a reminder that it is the world's youngest country and still very much a geological work in progress.