Things to do in  Vatnajokull National Park

Located in southern Iceland, Vatnajokull National Park is renowned for its incredibly diverse and dramatic scenery, including glacial plateaus, active volcanoes, towering ice caps, black-sand beaches, and terrain that is bubbling with geothermal activity. Vatnajokull glacier, the continent’s largest glacier, dominates the UNESCO World Heritage Site, which also contains Iceland’s highest mountain (Oraefajokull) and its deepest lake (Jokulsarlon).

Skaftafell, which sprawls across the southern tip of the Vatnajökull glacier, is one of the most popular corners of the larger Vatnajökull National Park. Dominated by the Skaftafellsjökull glacier, it offers some 2,000 square miles (5,000 square kilometers) of rugged mountainous terrain and glacial tongues. The park has no roads: Hiking, glacier hiking, and ice climbing are the main ways to get around this slice of Icelandic wilderness.

While at just 66 feet high (20 meters) Svartifoss Waterfall isn’t Iceland’s largest or most powerful, you could argue it’s one of the country’s most dramatic, thanks to its backdrop of striking dark basalt columns. Its name—meaning “Black Falls”—comes from the color of the hexagonal formations that create the waterfall’s amphitheater–shaped cliff.

With its ripples of ice flowing down a wide valley, Skaftafellsjökull is a glacier tongue, which extends from the Vatnajökull ice cap that covers much of southeast Iceland. The rugged ridges of Skaftafellsjökull glacier have become a playground for visitors to experience what it’s like walking on a glacier, while the black and green hills nearby serve as viewpoints to this slowly-melting natural phenomenon.