Visiting glacier lagoon is definitely a MUST while in Iceland. To hike up the glacier or visit the ice caves, we have to go by tour. Winter is definitely a great time to visit, where the ice caves are formed and icebergs can be seen. The glacier lagoon is approximately 3 hours away from our stay – Farmhouse Lodge, thus we left at around 8am because we have made a tour booking at 11am.
Jökulsárlón means ‘glacier river lagoon,’ is a spectacular body of water on the edge of the Vatnajokull National Park in south-east Iceland. This lagoon didn’t exist until 1930 and since then it had been increasing in size. Back in 1978, the Jökulsárlón Lake had a surface area of 8 sq km, till now it covers around 18 sq km and at 248 m, becoming Iceland deepest lake. Around Jökulsárlón area, many ice caves exist running beneath Vatnajokull glacier which is Europe’s largest glacier.
There won’t be any ice cave tour as these caves may be flooded, thus Winter is the best time to explore when they are frozen. While we were there in the ice cave, some parts of the caves are actually dripping (melting) – as it was pretty sunny the day we visited.
Other than visiting the ice cave, we did hike up the glacier for a while. It was super slippery, I was so afraid that I might slip all the way down even though I already have the spike crampons on my boots. They taught us how to walk on the glacier, stepping hard on the ice so that the spikes carved the ice, but it was still hard for me to walk up. Walking down is even riskier, as one slip could really make you slide all the way down to where all the vehicles are parked. Thankfully, I held on to my dad throughout the whole hike up and down.
Right opposite the assembly point, there’s Jökulsárlón Beach, where it’s formed by mini icebergs that are washed up to the beach that shine brightly – which has it called Diamond Beach.
This Glacier Lagoon adventure is definitely the highlight for my trip – it’s a whole new level of exploration for myself. As a person who rarely skate nor ski, I never thought I would experience glacier walking. Despite wearing two layers of heat-tech and another two layers of outwear, waterproof heat-tech pants, thick socks and boots, I can’t feel my toes nor fingers are they are frozen. Be sure to dress up extra warm before visiting the glacier lagoon!
Up next, would be my last post about Iceland – where we travel back Reykjavik for Christmas!
Here is what I have written so far about my Iceland trip:
Iceland: Reykjavik & Borgarnes
shermaine ♥ min 
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