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Vatnajökull National Park

Vatnajökull National Park offers its visitors a unique opportunity to experience the dynamic interaction between volcanos and glaciers. It is the largest national park in Western Europe and covers 13% of Iceland or 13.600 square kilometers.

The national park contains one of the largest glaciers in the world called Vatnajökull. This massive glacier has many subsidiary glacier tongues, each of which has its own name and distinct characteristics. The park was established in June 2008 and encompasses not only the glacier itself but also extensive surrounding areas. The Vatnajökull National Park is unique in its range of natural wonders and is characterized by the contrasts of fire and ice. You will be able to explore white glaciers descending to black beaches, hot streams erupting from frozen backs of ice, and Iceland’s highest mountain watchfully overlooking its deepest pro-glacial lake.

The visitor center of Vatnajokull National Park is in Skaftfell, in the southern coast of the glacier, but it is well accessible from the east with a range of hiking trails and natural wonders best reachable from the east side of the National Park. Among highlights of the east are Kverkfjöll, where the interplay of fire and ice are especially evident, the Hvannalindir oasis, Snæfell, the ancient volcano where reindeer tend to roam, and Eyjabakkar that are the home and breeding grounds of the pink-footed goose.