Visiting an ice cave in the Vatnajökull glacier is a fantastic experience. I had seen some beautiful photos from inside the ice caves and very much wanted to see the caves for myself.
I got the chance to visit them when the staff at Guide to Iceland went on a 2-day trip to visit two beautiful ice caves.
So off we went to southeast Iceland to experience the ice caves. We spent the night at Hotel Smyrlabjörg, which is a lovely country hotel in the Vatnajökull region.
Top photo: inside the Fláajökull glacier
Hiking to Fláajökull glacier
Early the next morning, we were driven to Fláajökull glacier, where we met our glacier tour guide. Fláajökull glacier is an icefall from Breiðabunga glacier in the eastern part of Vatnajökull glacier, Iceland's largest glacier, and Europe's largest ice cap by volume.
We were given crash helmets and crampons for the tour, and, for safety reasons, a harness so the tour guide could fasten us together if needed, e.g., in bad weather with poor visibility. Fortunately, the weather was perfect, sunny, and just below freezing point.
The Icelandic Met Office had predicted rain and wind, so we were delighted that their predictions were wrong. We started the one-hour-long hike by passing a long footbridge and headed for the ice caves. I was very excited about seeing them!
On the hike to Fláajökull glacier
The hike to the ice caves is 2.5 km long (5 km round trip), and parts of it are uphill through a canyon. That is where the harness would come in handy in bad weather.
The hike is rated moderate in difficulty, with rocky trails and an elevation gain of 160 meters, so parts of the hike are somewhat steep.
We had been walking briskly, so I was glad the tour guide stopped at the highest point.
The basalt column canyon and Fláajökull glacier
From there, we had a fantastic view of the canyon and the glacier, so we stopped and took photos.
The tour guide gave us a geology lesson on how the glacier has developed. Fláajökull glacier is retreating - it has shrunk some 2 km in the past hundred years!
In the canyon, I could see beautiful basalt columns. I was so glad it was sunny, as the low January sunshine beautifully lit the canyon and the glacier.
Crawling into the ice cave in the Fláajökull glacier
When we arrived at the mouth of the ice cave, we were divided into two groups. My group entered an ice cave into which we had to crawl!
I was a bit worried about crawling on all fours with a glacier on my back, as I am a bit claustrophobic, but it was a breeze, and we only crawled for a very short distance.
The rewards were breathtaking - the blue of the ice is out of this world, making this visit a true WOW-moment!
Very happy inside the ice cave
We were all acting like kids, touching the ice, taking photos left and right, and asking others to take our pictures! In this small ice cave was a group of very excited visitors :)
There were some beautiful ice formations and icicles in the cave. One is not supposed to touch them as they can break. And you don't want anything breaking inside an ice cave!
So please don't follow my example and hug an ice column in the excitement of seeing my first ice cave.
My husband and I inside the ice cave in Fláajökull
We spent half an hour inside this beautiful cave, and now it was time to visit the other ice cave in Fláajökull.
To enter that ice cave, we had to walk through a narrow crevasse, and again I thought I would be claustrophobic, but it turned out to be great fun walking in this beautiful aquamarine crevasse.
I felt like the glacier was hugging me, although you do NOT want a glacier hugging you too tightly, that is for sure!
There are some excellent photo opportunities at this spot.
This was so amazing!
The ice cave we just entered was much broader and higher than the other one, and it felt like entering a fairytale world - with a roof of aquamarine ice and lots of beautiful ice formations and icicles hanging from it.
It was absolutely breathtaking, and again, the whole group was acting like kids, touching the ice, repeatedly saying WOW, and taking photos left and right :)
Amazing colours inside the Fláajökull glacier ice cave
We spent half an hour in this beautiful ice cave before we joined the other part of the group.
The tour guide took a photo of each and every one of us in one corner of the cave, where the ice formation had taken the shape of a seat!
The tour guide told us that the ice cave acts like rubber and prolapses, and the cave disappears after a while, so every year the glacier guides have to look for new ice caves.
Inside the Fláajökull glacier ice cave
It was now time to head back, as the plan was to visit yet another ice cave in Breiðamerkurjökull glacier. We left the ice caves, totally satisfied with this unique experience, and headed back.
The hike back was much less strenuous than the hike to the ice caves.
Good hiking shoes are required for the hike and the ice caves. Dress in layers as it will be cold by the glacier.
It is necessary to wear additional windproof (waterproof) trousers, especially for crawling and sitting on the ice, but they will also keep you warm during the hike.
Beautiful colours inside the Fláajökull glacier ice cave
I was wearing woolen tights, trousers, and lined windproof trousers, which made me so padded that I was unable to bend down and tie my shoes ;) Since we have to wear helmets, a hood or a thin cap is a good idea.
I was wearing a thick faux-fur cap, and it was too big for the helmet, so I had to leave it on the bus. And don't forget to bring water and snacks to keep your strength up.
The ice caves are open only 5 months in the winter, from November until March, and are never to be visited without a professional glacier guide. Our guide, Sindri, was very knowledgeable, friendly, and helpful.
This is maybe the worst photo ever of me, taken after the tour, I look like a demented troll ;)
This being nature, we never know whether these caves will form and remain accessible each year.
The ice cave guides look for caves every winter, and we are very excited to see the new ice caves they discover each year.
Now we had yet another ice cave to visit and headed for the ice caves in the Breiðarmerkurjökull glacier, which I have written about in my next travel blog: the Sapphire Blue Crystal Ice Cave.
Visiting that ice cave turned out to be an even more fantastic experience when we found ourselves in a dome of bright blue ice.
Inside Breiðamerkurjökull ice cave
The top ice cave tours and lava trips in Iceland!
The Katla Ice Cave is open all year round - a travel blog about my visit to the ice cave.
Have fun - visiting the ice caves is such an amazing experience :)
