Ice cave hiking in Vatnajokull glacier, Iceland
It was near the end of our trip, and the sole reason for driving all the way out to Hofn was to have an easy access point to the Jökulsárlón Iceberg Lagoon, which was the meeting point for our Ice cave tour on Vatnajokull glacier.
We got up around 7 am, ate a quick breakfast at the local gas station convenience store, and hit the road in the dark. We drove an hour west back to the Iceberg Lagoon just as the sun was rising.
Our instructions said to look for a black and orange super jeep. We found it easily enough and met our guide, a 30 something year old Australian named Stephanie who had spent the last 5 years living in Iceland and spending half her time giving tour guides on the glacier.
Once the rest of our group arrived, we all climbed into the super jeep and rode out a half hour to get closer ot the glacier. I sat in the front watching her navigate the rough terrain while everone in the back bounced around violently.
Then the car stopped and we found ourselves on flat ground. The guide turned off the car and instructed us to grab helmets in the area above the cabin. We got out and hiked another 30 minutes to the glacier over slippery rocks and small streams of frigid water. The hike was classified as easy, and the path was classified as “Icelandic flat”, meaning mostly flat. Once we got to the mouth of the cave, we donned our helmets and crampons.
Closeup of the ice wall
A large morning group was just leaving, which meant we’d have the cave mostly to ourselves. Our guide led us into the cave slowly and stopped in the first chamber to let us take pictures. The walls and ceiling glowed in a deep blue while the sun shone through the cave causing a golden reflection to bounce off the caves uneven glassy surface.
We ventured farther into the cave and listened to our guide talk about how glaciers move and change throughout the seasons. She hadn’t been in this cave in weeks and was delighted to discover new paths that we could all explore together.
We ventured so far into the cave that we could only barely see the blue shining from the ceiling above. It was so dark and quiet that we all turned off our lamps and stood there in silence for a few minutes.
This was truly a unique experience and we are so glad we did it. After we spent an hour in the cave exploring and taking photos, it was time to go back to the Iceberg Lagoon, where we took photos and marveled at the icebergs sitting on the still lagoon.
Our day wasn’t over as we ventured across the ring road to Diamond beach, where we watched the sun set on the water. The small chunks of ice glowed backlit from the setting sun.
