CHOOSE YOUR ADVENTURE
Iceland remains largely uninhabited, with more than half of its 320.000 inhabitants living in the capital city. In fact, a mere twenty minute drive from Reykjavik center takes you out of the hubbub of city life and into the seclution of Iceland's spectacular landscapes, which inspireadventures from its shores to its mountain tops. But the landscape is not just for gaping at; Iceland's rivers are perfect for rafting, fishing, diving and snorkeling; its mountains, volcanoes and glaciers are good for hiking, climbing, dog-sledding, and snowmobiling; its snowy hills for skiing and snowboarding; its waves for surfing; its caves for exploring; and its barren highlands for jeep safaris.
Sharing Icelandic nature with its natural inhabitants is just as rewarding. Whether you are on board one of the many whale watching boats around the country, taking in the bird life, or trekking around the country on an Icelandic horse, the riveting beauty of the rugged landscape will never cease to amaze you.
Whatever you do, don't forget to pack a swimsuit and a towel. The geothermal energy under your feet is used to heat more than 170 public swimming pools around the country, and nothing says awesome like pulling over on the side of a gravel road to find one of Iceland's natural hotsprings tucked away just out of sight.
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Clean nature
Icelanders have long enjoyed one of the highest life expectancies in the world. There is no definitive explanation for this, but a clean environment and a healthy diet and lifestyle probably have something to do with it. The Icelandic diet is rich in quality raw materials, farmed, bred and caught in an unpolluted environment, and produced with the utmost care.
Culture
Iceland was the last country in Europe to be settled. To this day, it is one of the most sparsely populated countries in the world. Located in the middle of the North Atlantic, Iceland was settled by emigrants from Scandinavia and the British Isles in the tenth century. Due to Iceland's geographical location, it was mostly outside the influence of contemporary culture in Europe and America, until the late nineteenth century.
Mysterious Iceland
Iceland is home to the largest glaciers in Europe, as well as some of the world's most active volcanoes, and is widely known as "The Land of Fire and Ice". But Iceland escapes definition. It is also the land of light and darkness. Its location, just below the Arctic Circle, makes for long summer days with near 24-hours of sunlight; offset by short winter days with very little sunlight at all. Fortunately, while winters in Iceland are dark, they are relatively mild and play host to one of nature's most spectacular exhibitions of beauty; the Aurora Borealis.