When you are in Iceland, you need to take a walk on the ice side—in other words, go on a glacier hike.
You do not need a guide to walk to the foot of the glacier or admire the nearby icebergs, but if you decide to climb your way to the top of a glacier, you will need to book a tour. If you do not, it could be very dangerous.
I decided to book the Glacier Experience at Sólheimajökull Glacier with GetYourGuide.com, and had a great experience.
Ice meets Fire
One of the most interesting geological attractions in the world is the Sólheimajökull Glacier. This glacier is unique because it is a “crawling” glacier, which means it is constantly changing by growing and shirking every day. If you climbed the glacier this year, then decide to come back next year and climb it, it would be a completely different landscape.
Before I saw the Glacier, I always imagined it as a mountain of ice next to or in the sea, but the Sólheimajökull Glacier is nestled in between volcanic rock valleys. Formed over 500 years ago, the glacier sits next to the famous Eyjafjallajökull Volcano.
Like most things I tried to pronounce in Iceland, the “Eyjafjallajökull Volcano” turns into a jumble of syllables and mushes in my mouth. You may recognize the name since the volcano made news and was the culprit for tons of cancelled flights back in 2010.
It may look like a bowl of Cookies n’ Cream ice cream since the glacier is actually blackened with volcanic ash. At first, you may think that the proximity to the volcanoes and the covering of the ash may hurt or damage the glacier; however, the covering of the ash actually helps keep it insulated and protected from the sun.
The Sólheimajökull Glacier is a mixture of stunning, blue ice and volcanic ash.
The Location
The Sólheimajökulll Glacier is located about 2 hours away from Reykjavik. When traveling down to Vik, which is a popular Southern Iceland destination, you can spot this glacier from the main road.
This hike is perfect for a day trip, and you can even book a tour to pick you up from Reykjavik and drop you off. Since I rented a car, I could easily drive to the glacier and make other stops along the way.
If you are planning to make a day trip out of the glacier hike, I would suggest the following stops nearby:
Seljalandsfoss waterfall
Skógafoss waterfall
Sólheimasandur (Plane Wreck)
Dyrhólaey
Reynisfjara (Black sand beach)
Reynisdrangar
Gearing Up
The Glacier Experience at Sólheimajökull Glacier Tour with GetYourGuide.com included a certified glacier tour guide and glacier hiking equipment (helmet, harness, crampons, ice axe) in the package. It was not a private tour, but the company keeps the group sizes small.
When you pack for your trip, make sure you have:
Sturdy hiking boots
A waterproof, wind-resistant coat
Sunglasses
Sólheimajökull glacier translates to “Glacier of the Sun”
The Experience
After your drive down to the glacier, plan on meeting in the Sólheimajökull Glacier parking lot. There is a small café in the parking lot, which can shield you from the wind, but the menu is very limited and expensive. At the time of your tour, look for the Get You Guide van to get fitted for your hiking equipment and to meet your tour guide.
Whenever I have to wear something special on my feet (snorkeling flippers, hiking crampons, bowling shoes… you name it), I am always embarrassed to request my size. I am a size 9/9.5 shoe, but I always seem to have the largest women feet in the group. So, when the tour guide had to test out a multiple sizes of crampons on my feet, my cheeks burned red as I tried to squeeze my feet in them. I even blamed it on the sturdy, “really big” hiking boots I wore.
However, those boots were great for the walk leading up to the glacier. After being fitted for all my gear and introduced to my tour group, we began the walk to the base of the glacier. The walk is roughly 10-15 minutes and relatively flat. We were instructed to keep our helmets on as a precaution for falling rocks.
The walk up to the Sólheimajökull glacier was gorgeous as a rainbow arched over its peak.
In front of the glacier, icebergs floated in the water.
Once we got all of our hiking equipment on at the base, we were ready to climb the glacier. Again, my imagination was proved incorrect with the ease of climbing. Having grown up in Pennsylvanian winters, I imagined the climb as a balancing act on a sheet of ice. However, with the gear, it was an easy walk on the surface.
Since the crampons are an extension of the shoe, it will affect the way you walk. Your sashay on the dirt ground turns into a cowboy walk as you try to avoid tripping on the spikes.
Do you see the prism?
As we explored the dramatic crevasses, deep sink holes and arctic ridges, I was glad to be with such an experienced and knowledgeable tour guide. On our way to the top, he carved out a section of ice to show us the thousands of years old light trapped inside the ice which formed a prism.
Then, after reaching the top, he demonstrated a “Viking push up” in ordered to taste the fresh and clean glacier water. When each of us had a turn in the push up, he showed us a hole to dunk our water bottles in to fill them with the glacier water. I am a big water drink, and this is by far the best water I have ever had.
Despite the quick pain of dunking your hand in the freezing glacier water, the wind and cold were hardly noticeable as we stood on the top of the ice. Our group was given plenty of time to take pictures and explore the top on our own, until we—reluctantly—had to make our way back down.
Tip: Some tours may offer ice climbing.
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Have you hiked the Solheimajokull Glacier? Tell us about your experience below!
