The Iceland Effect

There are two kinds of travellers. Those who return from a holiday with photographs. And those who return with an existential crisis because they have discovered a destination that surpasses anything they have experienced before. I belong to the second category.

Iceland is truly spectacular, and after 10 days exploring the country, every other holiday I have undertaken pales in comparison. It has also spoiled all future trips for me.

Sounds of Silence

Our trip started in Reykjavík, where we spent two days exploring the city, before taking to Iceland’s Ring Road, eventually covering more than 2,200 km. What followed was a procession of black-sand beaches, fjords, geothermal springs and volcanic terrain.

In Iceland, if you drive for half an hour, you feel as though you have entered another country. Its greatest achievement is perhaps that it has largely resisted the urge to compete with what nature has already created. And nowhere did I feel that more strongly than at Jökulsárlón.

The glacier lagoon was much more impressive than I had imagined. Huge pieces of ice, fractured from Breiðamerkurjökull glacier, drift across the lagoon in shades of white and blue, some streaked with volcanic ash. Across the road, pieces eventually wash ashore on Diamond Beach, scattered across black volcanic sand. But what I remember most is the sound. At first, almost nothing. Wind. Water. An occasional bird. Stand there longer, and the silence begins to reveal itself. Icebergs grind against one another. Ice shifts with deep cracks. At Diamond Beach, Atlantic waves hit the shore and retreat around chunks of ice. Occasionally, a seal breaks through the soundtrack.

If you ever visit Jökulsárlón, put away your camera for a moment and allow yourself to soak in the otherworldly stillness.

On our ninth day, poor visibility forced us to abandon one planned stop and visit puffins instead. Iceland did not seem particularly interested in accommodating our itinerary. Perhaps that is part of its appeal.

I went to Iceland expecting a bucket-list destination. What I found, instead, was a place that repeatedly disturbed my sense of scale. Standing before a glacier, driving through a black volcanic landscape, or listening to ice crack across Jökulsárlón, the anxieties that normally occupy so much mental space suddenly seemed rather less important.

Par for the Course

Iceland humbled me and often stunned me into silence, but for its locals, its dramatic landscapes were places to socialise and make the most of a brief summer. Frankly, I had not expected the country’s hot tubs and swimming pools to become some of its most interesting social spaces.

Locals travel with tents and trailers in summer, park near mountains and waterfalls, and spend time outdoors with their families. In towns across the country, heated pools and hot tubs function almost like neighbourhood meeting rooms. I joined conversations in two of them. In a place where winters are long and settlements can be scattered, people still find somewhere warm to gather.

However, not everything in Iceland inspires contemplation. Some things prompt immediate concern about your credit card limit. A normal pizza could cost around INR 4,000. Coffee frequently crossed INR 800. A pack of Pringles could approach INR 1,000. After a few days, we decided we could deal with the heart attack when the credit-card bill arrived.

One meal, however, justified the indulgence. At Bara in Borgarnes, curiosity finally defeated caution, and I ordered horse meat, something I had never tried before. A Nepalese chef prepared it, while an Indian server helped us navigate the meal. The meat was tender, well-marinated and richer in flavour than I had expected. More than the novelty, I remember how welcome we felt.

After 10 days and hundreds of kilometres, I returned with thousands of photographs, a worrying credit-card bill, and one conclusion I still cannot quite shake. The world contains many beautiful places. Iceland simply makes you wonder what could possibly come next.

The Information

Getting there: Fly to Keflavík International Airport, around 50 km from Reykjavík. Most itineraries begin in the capital before heading onto the Ring Road.

Best time: June to August for long days and road trips; September to March for the Northern Lights.

Visa: Indian passport holders need a Schengen visa for Iceland.