Where the wild parts are

Walk between two continents in the cradle of Icelandic democracy, first stop on the Golden Circle.

Europe's largest national park wraps Iceland's biggest ice cap, ice caves and the country's highest peak.

The green oasis on the south edge of Vatnajokull, home to Svartifoss and Iceland's most accessible glacier tongues.

Iceland's deepest lake, filled with icebergs calved from Breidamerkurjokull and drifting out to the black sand of Diamond Beach.

The glacier-capped volcano at the tip of the Snaefellsnes peninsula — Jules Verne's gateway to the centre of the Earth.

The northern arm of Vatnajokull National Park — a 25 km glacial canyon anchored by the Asbyrgi horseshoe and Dettifoss.

A 25-metre-wide, 60-metre-tall curtain of water on the south coast — the classic Ring Road stop between Reykjavik and Vik.

The Golden Falls — a two-step, right-angle plunge of the Hvita river that is the crown of the Golden Circle.

The valley that gave the world the word geyser — and where Strokkur still erupts on schedule every 6 to 10 minutes.

Europe's most powerful waterfall by volume — 500 cubic metres a second of grey glacial water dropping 44 metres into Jokulsargljufur.

A remote volcanic caldera in the Highlands with a milky-blue crater lake warm enough to swim in — Apollo astronauts trained here for the Moon.

Rainbow rhyolite peaks, black obsidian lava fields and a natural hot river — the star of the Icelandic highlands.