A Complete History of Iceland

The Discovery of Iceland

Photo from Wikimedia, Creative Commons, by Guerber, H. A. No edits made.

For much of history, Iceland was one of the largest islands with no permanent population. Ancient Greek and Roman texts mention a mysterious northern land called Thule, which some scholars speculate may have referred to Iceland. 

The connection is uncertain, but the earliest reference to Thule dates to around 330 B.C., when the Greek explorer Pytheas recorded his travels.

The first written hint that anyone had lived on the island comes from 825, when the Irish monk Dicuil wrote of clerics who, decades earlier, had stayed on a northern island that may have been Iceland.

Those clerics are usually identified with the Papar, Irish monks named in the Landnamabok as the island's first inhabitants, who left behind books, crosses, and bells for the Norse to later discover. 

The Islendingabok describes them as "wandering Christians" who departed because of their dislike for the "northern heathens." Both accounts suggest the Papar had settled and abandoned Iceland before the official Settlement Age, though archaeological evidence has never confirmed it.

One site tied to this possible pre-settlement history is the man-made Caves of Hella, said to hold evidence of Irish monks in Iceland. They are a popular stop along Iceland's South Coast and can be explored on a guided Hella cave tour.

Photo from Caves of Hella Guided Tour. 

What has been confirmed is that there were at least seasonal inhabitants long before permanent settlement began. Remains of Viking houses have been found, mainly used to produce goods such as fish oil and iron that were then shipped back to Scandinavia. This matches accounts of early travelers who reached Iceland without staying.

The most famous is Flóki Vilgerðarson, better known as Hrafna-Flóki or "Raven Floki," the first Norseman in written record to deliberately set sail for Iceland. His story is told in the Landnamabok, and he is often credited with why Iceland is called Iceland.

Even so, it remains fitting to call Ingólfur Arnarson and his family the island's first settlers, since they were the first to make a permanent home here, a story that begins the settlement of Iceland.

The Settlement of Iceland

Photo from Wikimedia, Creative Commons, by Johan Peter Raadsig. No edits made.

Iceland was officially settled in the late 9th century, near the end of the Viking Age. According to historical sources, the first permanent Norse settlers arrived around 874 AD, led by Ingólfur Arnarson, who is traditionally considered the founder of Reykjavik. 

Over the following decades, waves of Norse migrants, mainly from Scandinavia and the British Isles, continued to arrive, establishing farms and communities across the country.

Ingólfur Arnarson, Iceland's First Settler

Ingólfur Arnarson is usually credited as Iceland's first permanent settler. He came with his family and his blood-brother, Hjörleifur Hróðmarsson.

As legend has it, Ingólfur threw two carved pillars from his ship and pledged to settle wherever they washed ashore. In due time, the pillars were found in what is now Reykjavik, where he settled with his family in 874. The excavated remains of one of Reykjavik's oldest longhouses are on display today at the Adalstraeti Settlement Exhibition. 

Hjörleifur settled along the South Coast, by Hjorleifshofdi Mountain, just east of modern-day Vik. He did not live there for long, as he was killed by his slaves, who then went into hiding. Ingólfur found them and avenged his blood-brother in the islands now known as the Westman Islands.

In the decades that followed, Norwegian chieftains came after Ingólfur to escape the heavy-handed King Harald of Norway. Within about 60 years, Iceland was fully settled. By 930 AD, it is thought that all arable land in the country had been claimed.

---

• See also: A History of Reykjavik

---

The Records of Iceland's Settlement

Photo from Wikimedia Commons, by Jón Erlendsson. No edits made.

Our knowledge of this period comes primarily from two medieval texts: the Landnamabok (Book of Settlements) and the Islendingabok (Book of Icelanders). Both were written down in the 12th century but drew on earlier oral storytelling traditions, offering detailed accounts of the early settlers, their origins, land claims, and genealogies.

The Landnamabok is especially rich in detail, listing over 1,400 settlements and more than 3,000 individuals, along with anecdotes, family trees, and stories of the Norse gods. The Islendingabok, written by the priest Ari Þorgilsson, gives a historical overview of Iceland's early years, including its settlement and the adoption of Christianity in the year 1000.

The Icelandic saga scholar Sigurður Nordal (1886 to 1974) described this medieval literature in glowing terms, calling it unmatched in originality and brilliance among the medieval literatures of Northern Europe.

The connection has lasted. The modern Icelandic language remains so close to Old Norse that these texts are nearly as accessible to native speakers today as they were 1,000 years ago, and many contemporary Icelandic names are shared with the first settlers. Most Icelanders grow up knowing the sagas and their colorful characters well.

---

• See Also: A Complete Guide to Icelandic Literature

---

The Founding of the Althingi

As the settlement grew, the ruling chieftains needed a way to make and enforce law across the island. 

Around 930, they established the Althingi at Thingvellir, an assembly where chieftains gathered each year to settle disputes and pass laws. It is widely regarded as one of the world's oldest nationwide parliaments, and it marked the beginning of the Icelandic Commonwealth.

Life in Early Iceland

Photo from Wikimedia Commons, drawing by Auguste Mayer (1836). No edits made.

When the first settlers arrived, around 40 percent of Iceland was covered in natural birch woodland. That changed quickly. The new arrivals cleared the forests for timber to build ships, homes, and farmsteads, and burned what they did not use for warmth. 

Within a century, Iceland was almost entirely deforested, with consequences for soil erosion that the country still deals with today.

The shortage of timber shaped how Icelanders built their homes. Until the 14th century, the first inhabitants lived in traditional Viking longhouses, but the lack of wood pushed them toward turf houses, built by cutting sod into patterned blocks and layering them into the walls and roof.

Turf insulated well, but these homes were rarely warm and depended on large central fires. Early Viking houses had smoke-ventilation systems, but that knowledge was lost after the Middle Ages, and later turf homes often lacked proper airflow, leading to respiratory problems. 

The houses were not durable either, and had to be reinforced or rebuilt each summer. The tradition lasted, in evolving forms, into the early 20th century. 
To survive, the early inhabitants needed to trade. Iceland was rich in some resources, including sheep, cattle, horses, and fish, but lacked many essentials and luxuries. Because Icelandic merchants were mainly farmers who could not be away from their land for long, trade ran along short routes to Scandinavia and the rest of Europe.

From Greenland, Icelanders imported walrus ivory, fur, and skins. From Byzantium came gems, silver, jewelry, and wine. England supplied wheat, tin, honey, and barley, while Russia and the East Baltic provided amber and slaves.

Iceland's Adoption of Christianity

For generations after settlement, Icelanders held onto Norse mythology, following an oral tradition carried over from their ancestors in Scandinavia. That began to change when Olaf Tryggvason became King of Norway in 995 and set out to convert those under his influence to Christianity.

Olaf sent missionaries to Iceland, but they had only partial success. In 999, after another failed attempt, he closed Norwegian ports to Icelandic merchant ships, cutting off trade to force the issue.

To avoid a civil war between Christians and pagans, Icelanders turned to the lawspeaker Þorgeir Þorkelsson to decide whether the country should convert. Þorgeir was chosen for his reputation as a reasonable man who could mediate between both sides.

As the story goes, he spent a day and a night under a fur blanket in silent deliberation before ruling that Iceland should adopt the new faith. To mark the decision, he threw his pagan idols into a waterfall, which became known as Godafoss, the "Waterfall of the Gods," now among the must-visit attractions in North Iceland.

The ruling came with compromises. Þorgeir declared that pagan worship would still be permitted in private, along with the exposure of surplus children and the eating of horseflesh, both long-standing customs that went against church teaching. Once the church gained full control in Iceland, these practices were banned.

Civil War and the Loss of Independence

In the 13th century, a civil war known as the Age of the Sturlungs gripped Iceland. From 1220 onward, powerful Icelandic chieftains (Goðar) battled over whether Iceland should become subject to Haakon the Old, King of Norway. The period takes its name from the Sturlungar, one of the most powerful families in Iceland at the time.

Snorri Sturluson, chieftain of the Sturlungar clan, had close and complicated ties to the Norwegian court, as did his nephew Sturla Sighvatsson. While Snorri is more famous as a saga writer, Sturla made his name warring aggressively with rival clans who refused to accept Norwegian authority.

This culminated in the Battle of Orlygsstadir in 1238, where Sturla was soundly defeated. It remains the largest known battle in Iceland's history, and you can learn more at the 1238 Battle of Iceland Exhibition in North Iceland, which recreates it through virtual reality.

The fighting continued in the years that followed, and the Norwegian king kept pressing his advantage. Gissur Thorvaldsson, once an opponent of Sturla, was made a chief by the king and worked to advance his interests. 

Finally, in 1262, the Gamli Sattmali, or Old Covenant, was signed. The agreement ended the Icelandic Commonwealth, and the island became a vassal of the Kingdom of Norway.

Just over a century later, in 1380, Iceland passed under the Danish-Norwegian crown as the two kingdoms united. In the 1500s, Denmark's King Christian III forced Lutheranism on the country, and to this day the official religion is Evangelical Lutheran Christianity.

What followed was a period that often gets overlooked. From the Settlement period up until the 15th century, Icelanders had thriving trade relations with merchants from across Europe. That changed dramatically in the early 17th century.

Shortly after the Reformation, the Danish king established a trade monopoly, meaning Icelanders were legally allowed to trade only with Danish merchants. Established in 1602, the monopoly brought severe punishments for anyone caught trading illegally with other nations. 

Imports grew less frequent and lower in quality, leaving Icelanders increasingly isolated and impoverished. The decades that followed are often considered among the hardest in Iceland's history.

The monopoly was finally abolished in 1787, just two years after the catastrophic Laki eruption had pushed the country to the edge of collapse.

The Laki Eruption and the Mist Hardships

Disaster struck Iceland with the violent eruption of the Laki Volcano in the 18th century. The eruption began in June 1783 and lasted until February 1784, and its aftermath killed around 9,000 Icelanders, roughly a fifth of the population at the time. 

The event was known as Skaftareldar, the Skafta River fires. The lava and poisoned air wiped out an estimated 80 percent of the nation's livestock, bringing on a famine that lasted for years.

The most important firsthand account comes from Minister Jón Steingrímsson (1728 to 1791), who documented the eruption as it happened:

This past week, and the two prior to it, more poison fell from the sky than words can describe: ash, volcanic hairs, rain full of sulfur and saltpeter, all of it mixed with sand.

The snouts, nostrils, and feet of livestock grazing or walking on the grass turned bright yellow and raw. All water went tepid and light blue in color, and gravel slides turned grey. All the Earth's plants burned, withered, and turned grey, one after another, as the fire increased and neared the settlements.

This period of starvation, among the worst ever recorded, is known in English as the Mist Hardships, or "Móðuharðindin" in Icelandic. As hunger set in and the weather turned, social order broke down and looting became frequent. 

---

• See also: Things That Can Kill You in Iceland

---

Beyond the hunger, many died from the toxic gas that filled the air and contaminated the land and water. The British cleric Gilbert White recorded how far the haze reached, writing from England: 

All the time, the heat was so intense that butchers’ meat could hardly be eaten on the day after it was killed, and the flies swarmed so in the lanes and hedges that they rendered the horses half frantic, and riding irksome. The country people began to look with a superstitious awe at the red, louring aspect of the sun.

The eruption's consequences reached far beyond Iceland, touching North America, the Sahel of Africa, and Europe. 

By disrupting the monsoon cycles of Africa and India, it caused widespread famine in Egypt, where an estimated one eighth of the population died. The poverty and food shortages that followed in France are thought to have contributed to the unrest behind the French Revolution. 

Photo from Super Jeep Tour of Fjadrargljufur Canyon & Lakagigar Craters. 

Today, the Lakagígar Craters remain as a reminder of the disaster. This moss-covered row of more than 130 craters stretches over 18 miles (29 km) across the southern Highlands, now within Vatnajokull National Park.

The area is a popular summer destination, though reaching it on your own means driving the F206 and F207 mountain roads, which require a 4x4 vehicle and include several unbridged river crossings. Conditions can change quickly, so it is worth checking road and river-crossing conditions with the rangers in Kirkjubaejarklaustur before setting out.

If you would rather not tackle the F-roads yourself, you can reach the craters on a guided Lakagígar Super Jeep tour from Kirkjubaejarklaustur. For a different perspective, a sightseeing flight over the Highlands takes in the craters and the surrounding lava field from above.

Iceland in World War I

When World War I broke out, Iceland was still part of Denmark and remained neutral. Even so, the country both influenced the war and was shaped by it.

More than 1,200 Icelanders served in the trenches of World War I. They were Western Icelanders, immigrants who had settled in North America and mostly enlisted with Canada. About a third had been born in Iceland, and most spoke Icelandic as their first language. By the war's end, 144 had been killed and hundreds wounded in the fighting on the Western Front.

On the home front, meanwhile, Iceland held an advantage over much of war-torn Europe: a countryside untouched by fighting. Demand for wool was high during the war, and because Iceland's sheep farms were never disrupted, the country profited considerably from wool exports.

Throughout the war, Iceland managed both its internal affairs and its dealings with other states capably. This helped persuade Denmark to recognize Iceland as a sovereign state in 1918, though full independence was still some years away.

Iceland in World War II

Photo from Wikimedia, Creative Commons, by army.mil. No edits made.

Iceland's path to independence ran straight through the Second World War. The story of Iceland during World War II is one of a neutral country caught in a strategic position it could not avoid: the republic was declared in 1944, only four years after Denmark had fallen to the invading German army.

But was Iceland ever truly under threat from the Axis powers?

Iceland's position on the globe gives it enormous strategic value in any international conflict. It sits squarely between mainland Europe to the east and North America to the west, overlooking the North Atlantic.

Whoever controls military bases in Iceland, whether ports or airfields, holds sway over sea and air traffic across that vast stretch of ocean, with ready access to both continents.

Photo from Wikimedia, Creative Commons, by Oxyman. No edits made.

In the early 1930s, the Third Reich showed little interest in Iceland. That changed quickly once war broke out, especially after Operation Weserubung, the Axis invasion of Norway and Denmark, and the Allies took notice.

Britain saw a German-held Iceland as a direct threat to its control of the North Atlantic. It telegraphed Reykjavik asking for support as "a belligerent and an ally," and pressed to build bases to strengthen its Northern Patrol. Reykjavik responded by reaffirming its neutrality.

The next day, April 10, the Icelandic Parliament declared that Denmark could no longer fulfill its duties toward Iceland and transferred all governing powers to the domestic government.
Two days later, Operation Valentine saw Britain invade the neighboring Faroe Islands, a clear sign of what was coming.

On May 6, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill argued to the war cabinet that taking Iceland was essential to deny it to the Axis. Further negotiation with the Icelandic government, he reasoned, would only risk tipping off the Germans, so an unannounced invasion was the safer move.

Photo from Wikimedia, Creative Commons, by USMC Archives. No edits made.

There was little fear the operation could fail. Iceland had no standing army, and only a handful of Germans were expected to resist. On May 3, the British Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Alexander Cadogan, captured the mood in his diary: 

“Home 8. Dined and worked. Planning conquest of Iceland for next week. Shall probably be too late! Saw several broods of ducklings.”

The invasion, known as Operation Fork, was thrown together en route. The force had no Icelandic speakers, and many of its maps had been drawn from memory. As it happened, Icelanders spotted a British reconnaissance plane over Reykjavik and knew the troops were coming. 

When the force landed, the British found the Icelanders accommodating, with some even helping unload supplies from the ships. 

---

• See also: The Nature of Icelanders

---

Photo from Wikimedia, Creative Commons, by United State Army. No edits made.

At the German consulate, British forces met no resistance. They did find Consul Gerlach midway through burning intelligence documents in a smoking bathtub, angrily insisting that Iceland was a neutral country. Reminded that Denmark had been neutral too, he was arrested. 

Sixty-two unarmed German sailors were also detained after being rescued from the Bahia Blanca, a German freighter that had struck an iceberg in the Denmark Strait.

As the war went on, British and Canadian troops gave way to U.S. forces. Britain, stretched thin on other fronts, asked the then-neutral United States to take over control of the island. 

The occupation brought a wave of construction, including Keflavik International Airport, Reykjavik Domestic Airport, harbors, hospitals, and roads. The economic boost was significant, but the presence of foreign troops remained deeply controversial, and many Icelanders protested it even as the country cooperated with the Allies.

The social impact of the occupation was just as contentious. At the height of the war, foreign troops numbered close to half the country's native male population, and relationships between Icelandic women and soldiers became a national flashpoint. 

What followed was one of the darker chapters of the era, known as ástandið, or "The Situation." Women suspected of relationships with foreign soldiers were treated as a problem to be policed. 

By 1941, Icelandic authorities were reportedly tracking more than 500 women, and some were sent to institutions such as the Kleppjárnsreykir Center in West Iceland, where they were held in harsh conditions and solitary confinement. 

They had committed no crime beyond their personal relationships, yet they bore the brunt of the country's anxieties about the occupation. Children fathered by foreign soldiers became known as ástandsbörn, "children of the situation." 

Iceland Declares Independence

The movement that led to independence began nearly a century before it was achieved. In the 1800s, Jón Sigurðsson led a group of Icelandic intellectuals in the campaign for self-government and a restored Icelandic parliament. He is remembered as the father of Icelandic independence, and although he was never head of state, Icelanders still refer to him affectionately as President Jón.

His legacy is woven into the date independence was finally won. June 17, Jón's birthday, is now the official Independence Day of Iceland, and his statue stands on Austurvollur Square, in front of the Icelandic Parliament building.

The final step came during World War II. Iceland held a constitutional referendum in 1944, as the war neared its end, and 98 percent of voters backed independence from Denmark. 

Because Nazi Germany still occupied Denmark at the time, many Danes felt it was an inappropriate moment to hold the vote. Even so, King Christian X of Denmark sent his congratulations once the result was in.

Under the 1918 Danish-Icelandic Act of Union, the two countries had kept close ties, with Iceland still under the Danish crown. That union was dissolved in 1944, and Iceland became a fully independent republic. Sveinn Björnsson became its first president, and is remembered today as one of the most famous figures in Icelandic history. 

Independence meant redefining Iceland's place in the world, culturally distinct from Denmark and newly responsible for its own relationships with the rest of Europe. The Icelandic flag was ratified into law in 1944, and the values seen as central to Icelandic identity, including religious freedom and the preservation of the language, were affirmed as founding principles of the new nation. 

Modern Iceland: From Independence to Today

Even after independence, American forces stayed in Iceland far longer than promised. Under the Keflavik Agreement, the United States was to withdraw after World War II and hand back control of Keflavik Airport. But as Cold War tensions and anti-Communist sentiment rose in the United States, Washington decided unilaterally to maintain its presence as a deterrent against the Soviet Union.

The decision drew widespread protests in Iceland. They changed little at the time, but they hardened a lasting national instinct: a distrust of foreign intervention and a readiness to protest policies seen as contrary to Icelandic values.

The airport was returned to Icelandic control in 1951, though the U.S. Navy kept its air station at Keflavik until 2006. Since then, the United States and other NATO allies have kept a rotating presence rather than a permanent base. Allied fighter jets deploy to Keflavik several times a year to patrol Icelandic airspace under NATO's air policing mission. 

Iceland has no military of its own, and under the 1951 defense agreement, the United States remains responsible for its defense on behalf of NATO.

None of this is surprising. Iceland's position over the North Atlantic is as strategically important now as it has ever been, and the American influence runs deep, still visible in everything from the country's love of hot dogs to its music and film.

How Iceland Became Wealthy

For much of the latter half of the 20th century, unemployment was low and Icelandic industry prospered. In 1949, Iceland became a founding member of NATO, and the year before, it had begun receiving Marshall Aid from the United States.

Because Iceland had only recently gained independence, it was eligible for this aid, which transformed the country's finances. The money went into strengthening agriculture and fishing and into building hydropower plants through the 1950s, modernizing Iceland in a remarkably short time. That modernization had lasting consequences for how Iceland's wealth was structured. 

After the post-war boom, Iceland established its territorial waters, securing exclusive fishing rights for the nation. Fishing remains one of Iceland's largest export industries to this day, though the wealth it generates has long been concentrated in relatively few hands, a tension that has fueled public debate for decades.

One visible consequence is something travelers notice right away: the cost of living in Iceland is notably high compared to much of Europe.

Iceland in the Cold War

The 1980s brought Iceland to global attention. In 1986, Reykjavik hosted a summit between U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev on nuclear disarmament. The talks at Hofdi House ended without an agreement, though the issues were largely resolved the following year, and the meeting is remembered as a turning point in the Cold War.

A few years earlier, in 1980, Vigdís Finnbogadóttir had become president of Iceland and the world's first democratically elected female head of state.

In the 1990s, sweeping economic reforms diversified Iceland's industries so the country was no longer overly reliant on fishing. After a brief recession, the economy grew strongly, averaging around 4 percent a year, and Iceland joined the European Economic Area in 1994, strengthening its place in the international economy.

The 2008 Crash and Iceland's Tourism Boom

For a time, Icelanders pinned their hopes on banking. The 2008 financial crash ended that abruptly, wiping out years of gains and forcing the country to look elsewhere to recover.

As it happened, the world's attention was already turning to Iceland, drawn by the ash cloud rising from the 2010 eruption of Eyjafjallajokull, which disrupted air travel across Europe. The government and tourist board seized the moment, promoting Iceland as a must-see destination, and tourism has been central to the economy ever since.

Iceland has also leaned heavily on green energy, building hydroelectric and geothermal power stations to harness Iceland's natural energy. The benefits have been significant, but so has the controversy, fueling an ongoing debate over how to balance the preservation of nature against the use of its resources.

Where to Experience Iceland’s History

Iceland's history is not confined to books and museums. Across the country, the sites where it unfolded are still standing and open to visit, and a range of museums and tours bring the story to life. Here is where to experience it in person.

History Museums in Iceland

Photo from Viking Worlds Museum Entrance Ticket. 

These museums and exhibitions trace Iceland's story from the first settlers through the centuries that followed.

• National Museum of Iceland — Iceland's principal history museum, with artifacts spanning the settlement to the modern era. It is a natural starting point for understanding the country's past.

• World in Words — An exhibition on Icelandic literature and the language that preserved them. You can book a World in Words exhibition ticket ahead of your visit.

• Adalstraeti and Settlement Exhibition — Built around the excavated remains of one of Reykjavik's oldest longhouses. A private Viking-age walking tour of Reykjavik can include a visit.

• Settlement Center — This museum in Borgarnes covers Iceland's settlement and the saga of Egill Skallagrímsson. It is a popular stop on West Iceland tours.

• Viking World Museum — This museum on the Reykjanes Peninsula is home to a full-size replica Viking longship. Book a Viking World entrance ticket to access the exhibitions.

• Arbaer Open Air Museum — A collection of historic buildings relocated from across Iceland. Costumed staff and seasonal events bring the old houses and farm life to the present day.

• Commonwealth Farm (Þjóðveldisbærinn) — A full-scale reconstruction of an 11th-century turf farmstead in South Iceland. It offers a Viking exhibition experience where visitors can dress in medieval clothing, handle replica tools, and explore the buildings. 

• Eiriksstadir Viking Longhouse — A replica of the farmstead thought to have belonged to Eirik the Red and the birthplace of his son, Leif Eiriksson. The Settlement Period Farm experience lets you step inside.

• War and Peace Museum — This museum in the East Iceland village of Reydarfjordur tells the story of Iceland during World War II. Admission to the War and Peace Museum is required. 

Many of Reykjavik's museums are covered by the Reykjavik City Card, available in 24-hour, 48-hour, and 72-hour options, which can be worth it if you plan to visit several.

History and Culture Experiences in Reykjavik

Photo from Viking Walking Tour.

Several walking tours and activities focus on the history of Reykjavik and the country’s culture.

• Reykjavik History and Culture Walk — A small-group walk through the capital's main historical sites and stories.

• Viking Walking Tour of Reykjavik — Focuses on the Vikings who first settled Iceland and made it their home.

• Folklore Walking Tour of Reykjavik — Explores Iceland's folklore through tales of trolls, elves, and hidden people.

• The Icelandic Storyteller — A live storytelling experience where a local guide shares the sagas, legends, and folklore that shaped Iceland.

Day Tours to Iceland's Historic Sites

Photo from World War Sightseeing Tour. 

Some of Iceland's history is best explored on focused day tours, and many of its most significant sites also lie along the country's well-established sightseeing routes. The Golden Circle covers the southwest, the Silver Circle takes in West Iceland's saga country, and the Diamond Circle loops through the historic north. 

• World War II Sightseeing Tour from Reykjavik— A day trip focused on the Allied occupation and Iceland's wartime history, visiting sites connected to the British and American presence. 

• Golden Circle Minibus Tour from Reykjavik — Visits Thingvellir National Park, the original site of the Althingi and where Iceland adopted Christianity, along with Geysir and Gullfoss.

• Diamond Circle Tour from Akureyri — Explores the dramatic landscapes of North Iceland, a region rich in saga history and Norse mythology.

• Silver Circle Small Group Tour from Reykjavik — Takes in West Iceland's quieter route, including Reykholt, home of saga writer Snorri Sturluson.

The Story of Iceland

Few countries have a history as turbulent as Iceland's. In just over a thousand years, it went from a remote Norse outpost to a self-governing commonwealth. It then endured centuries of foreign rule, famine, and isolation before emerging as one of the world's most prosperous and stable nations. 

For travelers, the past is never far away. The sites where this history unfolded, from Thingvellir National Park to the craters of Laki, are still open to explore. This long story of survival and independence is still part of what makes Icelanders proud today. 

Did you learn anything new about Iceland? Is there a particular chapter in Iceland’s history you'd like to know more about? Feel free to leave your thoughts and queries in the comments section below.