Worth Seeing in Iceland (Part 4)

Northern Iceland could be called the dark edge of Europe. Volcanic lakes, caves formed in hardened lava and craters are some of the few attractions that await us in the north. One of the more important places worth seeing is the lake Mývatn.

It's called the lake of midges. In very good weather you can see whole swarms of insects above the water's surface. It's also the only place in Iceland where insects occur.

The lake formed about 35,000 years ago. The water is rich in minerals and algae, which makes it blue-green. It lies in an area made up of rock formations and lava fields, geothermal springs, active shield volcanoes and craters. It's right here, in a small area, that you can see the most varied forms of volcanoes.

North of Lake Mývatn we'll find a volcanic area whose sight at dusk gives you shivers — Dimmuborgir, the dark fortresses. These are labyrinths formed from hardened lava. We'll come across plenty of caves, ravines, fissures and a countless number of hillocks.

They formed during the great eruption of the Þrengslaborgir volcano. The old lava fields are covered with lush vegetation and moss, while the newest ones are completely devoid of it. There are plenty of pseudocraters here, which in appearance resemble the surface of the Moon. No wonder that it was right here that the future American astronauts, with Armstrong at the helm, carried out various exercises.

Driving further towards the town of Akureyri, we pass the Goðafoss waterfall, called the waterfall of the gods. It's horseshoe-shaped and took its name from the pagan idols whose statues were thrown into the waterfall during the Christianisation of Iceland.

It's also worth stopping in the town of Akureyri and eating whale at the Bautinn eatery. Beyond the town we can go a little out of our way and visit two towns, Ólafsfjörður and Siglufjörður, called the herring towns.