When Mother Nature shaped Iceland, she was in a mood, mustering all her forces to form this chaotic landscape; wind, fire and water orchestrating creation. Mountains of green carved by streams of white forming miles after miles of the most beautiful waterfalls in the world. Volcanoes in a never-ending mission of creation, glaciers of blue carving majestic peaks at will and black beaches lined up with diamonds in the rough shaped by angry seas.

This is an intimate experience limited to three people that give us the opportunity to travel in a vehicle that can reach almost every point. The roads through the Highlands are only opened from mid-June to mid-September hiding for most of the year the jewels of its volcanic center.

ITINERARY

DAY 3

SNÆFELLSNES PENINSULA

We start our day at Kirkjufellsfoss and Mt. Kirkjufell, the premier iconic site of Iceland, this combination of waterfall in the foreground and cone-shaped mountain in the back provide the perfect photographic composition We then drive along the coast of the peninsula photographing churches, shipwrecks and fields of lupines. Along the way we photograph the bird-filled cliffs around the Saxholsbjarg lighthouse. In Djupalonssadur, we walk down to the lava flows covered in green moss down to the coastline for some interesting shots. A challenging drive to the Snæfellsjokull Glacier completes the day.

Night at Grundarfjordur

DAY 4

Þjórsádalur Valley- Fjallabak Nature Reserve

Today we travel to the highlands via Reykjavik. After our four-hour journey we arrive at Haland, home base for the next couple of days. Upon arrival we photograph the magnificent Háifoss situated near the volcano Hekla. The river Fossá, drops here from a height of 122 m. This is the third highest waterfall of the island and a heaven for pictures. Next stop is the valley of Gjáin with its small waterfalls, ponds and volcanic structures. This waterfall playground will yield images on every corner.

Night at Haland

DAY 5

Fjallabak Nature Reserve

Time to hit the mountain roads, our first stop for the day is Frostastadavatn Lake. Resting in breathtaking nature, black lava fields and colorful rhyolite mountains, its turquoise waters make for an excellent foreground to the dramatic mountains in the background.

Next stop is Landmannalaugar, a truly rare area, both geologically and aesthetically. Landmannalaugar itself is made up of windswept rhyolite mountains, a rock type that creates a full spectrum of dazzling colors on the mountainside. Shades of red, pink, green and golden yellow change their tone as the sun moves, creating an area of wilderness that resembles no place else on earth.  Here we hike the lava fields to photograph scenes out of a fairytale book. On the way back we stop at Ljótipollur Crater, formed in 1477 and now filled with a cobalt-blue deep water. Our last stop for the day is Sigoldufoss with its beautiful turquoise water.

Night at Haland

DAY 6

Eldgja- Kirkjubæjarklaustur

Today we start our migration to the south coast. The famous F208 road will take us through one of the most amazing landscapes in Iceland. There are a myriad of photo opportunities along this curve-filled path, you will truly feel in another planet.

Night at Kirkjubæjarklaustur

DAY 7

Laki

Time to hit the “lava”. The road to Laki is a rough mountain road crossing un-bridged rivers providing breathtaking views at every turn. Lakagígar is a series of craters that were formed in one of the world’s largest mixed eruptions in recorded history. Here we hike inside some of the craters and photograph this unique landscape of miles and miles of moss-covered lava fields. On our way back we stop to photograph Fagrifoss, meaning “Beautiful Waterfall” . This a magnificent waterfall which certainly lives up to its name. We end our day with on Fjaðrárgljúfur Canyon, a must see for this magical country!. This canyon is one of those places in Iceland that you don’t find in any of the brochures. The mossy floor holds trails that seemingly lead into an abyss where the blue waters with the occasional waterfall make you feel like you are surrounded by fairies and trolls.

Night at Kirkjubæjarklaustur

DAY 8

Vatnajokull National Park

Next we travel to the Vatnajokull Glacier, Europe’s largest glacier and a national park. On our way we hike and photograph Svínafellsjökull a breathtaking outlet glacier of the Vatnajökull glacier and with scenery and views that are simply stunning. We finish the day photographing at Jokulsarlon Glacier lagoon. This is a great location for us to capture the phenomenal huge icebergs that float on the lagoon in a constant ballet of movement and amazing light. A quick trip across the street takes us to the world famous “Diamond Beach” where some of the icebergs come on shore. The stark contrast of the white and blue ice and the black sand sets the stage for some unique imagery. The constant pounding of the waves provides the perfect opportunity of slow shutter speed photos to capture the movement.

Night: Jokulsarlon

DAY 9

Vatnajokull National Park

One more shoot at Jokulsarlon Glacier lagoon and Diamond Beach to get these wonders under a different light.

Moving on in our exploration of the deep south we travel to Stokksness where you will be able to shoot wonderful reflection of Vestrahorn mountain on the wet black sand. On the way back we explore Heinabergsjokull, another of the fantastic, and seldomly visited glacier.

Night: Jokulsarlon

DAY 10

Heading back east, we stop to photograph the Fjallsarlon Glacial Lagoon with the magnificent Fjallsjökull glacier as a background. Next stop Vik, with its iconic church. On to the black sand beach in Reynisfjara with massive basalt walls and a stunning view of Reynisdrangar; the basalt pillars that protrude from the ocean floor. Next stop are the cliffs of Dyrhólaey where we search for the elusive puffins.

NIGHT AT SKOGAFOSS

DAY 11

We start the day Skogafoss, one of the biggest falls in Iceland with a drop of 60 meters. Then on to Kvernufoss, a beautiful 30-meters high waterfall that is half-hidden away in a gorge.

Time to head back home, we embark on three-hour drive back to the Keflavik Airport