Statistics about Iceland

Statistics about Iceland

Population of Iceland in January 2017

Iceland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 338,349

Reykjavík City . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123,246

Kópavogur . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35,246

Hafnarfjörður . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28,703

Akureyri (Capital of the North) . . . 18,488

Westman Islands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4,292

Ísafjörður (in the West Fjords) . . . . .2,571

Egilsstaðir (in the East). . . . . . . . . . .2,393

Grímsey Island (in the North) . . . . . . . .67

Number of Tourists 1980-2016

2016. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1.792,201

2015. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1.289,100

2014. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 998,600

2013. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .807,349

2012. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .672,773

2011. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 565,611

2010. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 488,622

2009. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 493,900

2008. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 502,000

2007. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 485,000

2006. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 422,280

All airports and Smyril Line. Excluding cruise ships – approx. 100,000 in 2016

Iceland's waters. Photo by Olga

Main Nationalities Visiting Iceland in 2016

USA. . . . . . . . . 23.5% Canada 4.7%

UK . . . . . . . . . . 17.9% China. . .3.8%

Germany. . . . . . .7.5% Sweden 3.1%

France. . . . . . . . 4.8% Norway 2.9%

Country km2

Iceland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .102,775

Glaciers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23,805

Lakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,757

Highlands. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42,700

Ring Road . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,332 km

All roads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12,955 km

Coastline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4,970 km

Highest Waterfalls m

Foss, Morsárjökli . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .228

Glymur . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .190

Hengifoss . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .128

Seljalandsfoss . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

Skógafoss . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

Dettifoss. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Gullfoss . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Goðafoss . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Biggest Glaciers km²

Vatnajökull . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8,300

Langjökull . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .953

Hofsjökull. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .925

Mýrdalsjökull . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .596

Drangajökull . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .160

Eyjafjallajökull . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78

Tungnafellsjökull . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Þórisjökull . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Eiríksjökull . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Þrándarjökull. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

The Power of Iceland

Welcome to the land of renewable energy

Iceland’s nature isn’t just amazingly pretty, it’s powerful too. Iceland meets virtually all of its needs for electricity and heating with renewable resources and is a world leader in sustainable energy development.

All of Iceland’s electricity – 100% – comes from renewable resources; hydro, wind and geothermal. For over one hundred years, Iceland has made use of these forces to generate clean energy. 70% of the nation’s electricity are generated by hydro power and 30% by geothermal power. In addition, geothermal energy provides heating and hot water for approximately 90% of all buildings in Iceland. There are also plans for increased development in wind power.

The forces of nature inspire pure innovation for numerous entrepreneurial companies in various fields, such as genetics, health-related tourism and fish farming. They’re also essential to growing vegetables all-year-round in geothermal greenhouses. And, last but not least, they provide us with many geothermal pools in Iceland.

Greater Reykjavík Area

Greater Reykjavík Area

The Greater Reykjavík Area includes Reykjavik City and the surrounding towns of Kópavogur, Garðabær, Hafnarfjörður, Seltjarnarnes and Mosfellsbær. Over the past few years the municipalities in the area have increased in size and population, and as a result the towns lie relatively close together.

Despite this, the towns are independent and have all got their own councils, sports clubs, swimming pools and history.

Reykjavík

Reykjavik, is the northernmost capital in the world, known for its rich cultural scene, exciting nightlife and relaxed atmosphere. The town centre has a quirky mixture of colourful ironclad houses and modern concrete buildings and offers a selection of shops, restaurants and sites of historical interests. Some of the best known landmarks are Hallgrímskirkja Church, Harpa Concert Hall and Perlan, ideal for panoramic views of the surrounding mountains. For shopping, Kringlan offers a variety of indoor shops and fast food restaurants and is conveniently located close to recreational areas such as Laugardalur Valley and Nauthólsvík beach.

 Reykjavík city. Photo by Olga

Kópavogur

Kópavogur, lies south of Reykjavík and is centrally-located in the greater Reykjavík area, with easy access to the nearby towns. Despite its rapid growth in previous years, the town offers unspoilt, family-friendly greens and close proximity to Elliðavatn lake, ideal for a nearby escape to the countryside. Kópavogur has two thermal swimming pools and is home to Smáralind, the largest shopping centre in Iceland. Sites of interests include Salurinn, Iceland’s first specially designed Concert Hall and Gerðarsafn art museum.

Garðabær

Garðabær is situated between Kópavogur and Hafnarfjörður and is characterized by its long, leafy streets and surroundings of unspoilt nature. Historical sites of interest are in Hofsstaðir Archaeological park, Krókur historical farm (open during summer) and the Design Museum of Iceland. To the West of Garðabær is Álftanes, a small neighbourhood ideal for nature and coastal walks and home to Bessastaðir, the president’s residency.

Hafnarfjörður

Hafnarfjörður is a charming harbour town south of Garðabær, surrounded by fields of lava formations. The town centre is small and cosy, with a variety of small shops, cafes and galleries. Hafnarfjörður has three swimming pools, including a family-friendly indoor pool that is located in the newer area of Hafnarfjörður. For sites of cultural interest, the Hafnarfjörður Museum offers an insight into Icelandic history, and the Viking Village restaurant celebrates this theme with traditional Icelandic food, historical settings and the annual Viking Festival. Íshestar offers horse-riding tours in the surrounding area.

Seltjarnarnes

Setljarnarnes is a residential town to the west of Reykjavík. The beach at Grótta is popular for walking and leads to Grótta Lighthouse, with excellent views over parts of Reykjavík and Faxaflói Bay.

Mosfellsbær

Mosfellsbær is a family-friendly town, with plenty of natural surroundings, popular walking routes and two swimming pools. Around 10 minutes from the centre towards Þingvellir is Gljúfrasteinn Museum, the former home of Iceland’s Nobel laureate Halldór Laxness.

The Mountaineers of Iceland

The Mountaineers of Iceland

The Mountaineers of Iceland offer snowmobile tours for individuals and groups from our base camps at the east side of Langjökull glacier. This is a great choice for those who have their own transportation and want to top off the Golden Circle. Professional guides will take you on a snowmobile adventure in the Icelandic highlands, giving you the most amazing views of the majestic glacier and its surroundings.

The company offers daily departures from Gullfoss Café where you can park your car and grab some lunch. A monster truck will then take you up to Langjökull glacier. Driving through Iceland, a relatively new land compared to most of the world’s terrain is quite an adventure. Looking out the window, at the sparsely settled countryside with a few signs of commercial exploits is a rare sight for many visitors.

Once you arrive at the base camp, you will receive the appropriate equipment, such as helmets, overalls, overshoes, gloves and a hat. Friendly and fun-loving guides will give you instructions on how to operate the snowmobile and go over the safety procedures before you ride off into the winter wonderland.

The snowmobile are double-riders and children are welcome to ride as passengers as long as they have reached the age of six.

Mountaineers of Iceland. Crédit photo: https://mountaineers.is

Please note: A direct drive from Reykjavík to there takes about 1 hour and 40 minutes. Don’t forget to take in the sights on the way!

If you have a car suitable for mountain roads you can book this tour without the transfer from Gullfoss cafe during summer and fall and meet us at our base camp at the glacier.

Wear : Layers and good shoes

The oldest snowmobile tour operator in Iceland, the Mountaineers of Iceland was founded by Herbert Hauksson in 1996. With over one hundred snowmobiles in operation and capacity to welcome large or small groups on Langjökull glacier – the Europe’s 2nd largest glacier and is our main area of operation. The glacier is home to the company’s base camps, both on the glacier’s east and west sides.

Mountaineers also operate a fleet of specially designed glacier super trucks and super jeeps. They have the capacity to escort groups on the glacier and other rugged mountain tracks of the Icelandic highlands, mostly unreachable by conventional transportation. The company offers all sorts of super jeep and snowmobile day-tours that are mostly operated in Iceland’s Southwest region. Id est the Meet us at Gullfoss snowmobile tour, super jeep Golden Circle and snowmobiling tour as well as Into the Glacier snowmobiling and ice cave tour, to name a few.

The first stop on the Golden Circle is Þingvellir National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and home of Iceland’s first parliament and the oldest extant parliamentary institution in the world. Founded in AD 930, it is Iceland’s most significant historical site.

Also capturing the world’s attention is Þingvellir’s geological features where the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates can be seen separating from each other, although, ever-so-slightly year after year. Now after many millennium, you can witness the big gap that’s been formed at this geological marvel.

From Þingvellir, travelers head inland toward the highly active Geysir Hot Spring area with its boiling mud pits and spouting hot springs. For some wet and wild excitement, if the winds are right, you can let the falling water from the mighty geyser give you a good dousing.

The journey continues on to Gullfoss, one of Iceland’s most powerful waterfalls. Located on Hvítá river, this waterfall fed by Langjökull Glacier plummets 32 meters in two stages into a rugged canyon. And while you’re there, keep your fingers crossed; with a little luck, on a sunny day, you’ll be greeted by a rainbow.

To top it all off, we drive to Langjökull Glacier for another Iceland adventure where we will dash across snowfields on snowmobiles, gazing at the mountain peaks, while enveloped in this icy realm.

Snowmobile Into The Glacier : Take your exploration to a whole new level with a snowmobile tour on top of Langjökull glacier and a guided tour into the Ice Cave.

If you’re traveling in West Iceland, we highly recommend an unforgettable glacier experience. A snowmobile tour on Langjökll and explore the magnificent man-made ice cave. At our base camp Jaki at Langjökull Glacier, we gear up for the snowmobile tour before we head off on the vast snowfield. Through an incredible landscape, you will make your way to the man-made ice cave situated high on the glacier. There you will enjoy a guided tour 200 meters into the ice tunnel at 40 meters under ice-cap. We finish the tour by driving back on our snowmobiles to Jaki Base Camp. This gives us another chance to feast our eyes on the Icelandic highlands.

This is truly an unforgettable experience where you’ll be given the opportunity to experience an endangered natural phenomena. You’ll first travel the ice-cap from above and then see it’s beautiful blue internals from the inside. This tour is completely unique, worldwide.

Please note:

• The company recommends that you bring: Warm and wind proof clothing in addition to good, waterproof hiking boots and a camera.
• Choice of roads and availability of activities are condition dependent.
• For operation a snowmobile you need to have a valid driver’s license and be at least 18 years old.
• Please leave your mobile phone number when you make the reservation.
• For weather updates go to www safetravel.is or www. Vedur.is.
• The Mountaineers of Iceland Website: https://mountaineers.is

The Islandic Sagas

The Icelandic Sagas

The Greatest hits in 75 minutes

A unique experience in English

Welcome to the world of Hallgerd of the Long-Pants, Gunnlaugur Serpent Tongue, Killer-Glumur, Haradur with the great-hairdo and Mjoll the-biggest-of-all-women-who-were-not-giants.

Prepared to be thrilled, entertained and intrigued – and find out what tossing a pair of blue pants into a Viking’s face really meant. Really!

The Islandic Sagas are 40 unique and realistic stories describing the settlement of Iceland. Detailing Viking raids abroad and blood-feuds at home, the Sagas are the absolute crown jewels of Icelandic culture. The beloved heroes, and vilified anti-heroes, are ordinary farmers and raiders facing real-life problems like how to get your wife to stop killing your neighbour’s slaves, what to do when someone calls you a horse-ass-eater and how to sue your brother in-law for not… living up to his wife’s expectations. These amazing sagas, preserved on calf-skin manuscripts for a millenia, are the true inspiration behind Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones. Now you can experience them all in:

Icelandic Sagas – The Greatest Hits!

The shepherd was bent forward with the neck stretched forward. Thorgeir swung the axe and cut him across the neck. When asked why he had done such a thing he replied: “I could not resist when he stood so convenient for hewing.”

Islandic Saga, photo from The Islandic Sagas show

The Saga of the Sworn Brothers

“Þorbjörn rushed up holding his spear in two hands and ran Atli through. Atli looked down and said: “They’re in fashion these days, the broad spears” as the blood spewed forth from his wound.”

The Saga of Grettir the strong

“Thorgrím climbed up on the roof. Gunnar saw a red coat appear at the window and lunged at Thorgrím with his spear. Thorgrím’s feet slipped from under him and he tumbled from the roof. He then walked over to Gizur who asked: “Well, is Gunnar home?” Thorgrím answered:“All I know is that his spear is!” and fell dead to the ground.”

The Saga of Burnt Njal

“Hildigunna took the cloak and and wrapped Hoskuld’s gouts of gore up in it. Then she went to Flosi and threw the cloak over him, and as the gore rattled down all over him she called out: “This cloak you gave to my husband, and now I give it back and order you by your manhood to take vengeance on my behalf or else be called every man’s dog.”

The Saga of Salmon Valley

The show is performed at The Northern Lights Hall.

Before or after the show you can take a tour of this award winning building. Enjoy fine dining at the Italian inspired Kolabrautin restaurant on the top floor or a lighter meal at Smurstöðin, the nordic cuisine specialists.

The Islandic Sagas

The Saga of Killer Glum

The Saga of Hrafnkell Frey’s-Gothi

The Saga of Egill

The Saga of Ale Hood

The Saga of Thorsteinn the White

The Saga of Fox the Sky

Eyrbiggja Saga

The Saga of Finnbogi the Strong

The Saga of Bjarni the Champion

Gold Thorir’s Saga

The Saga of the Allies

The Saga of Havard of the Icy Fjord

The Saga of the People of Water Valley

The Saga of the People of Kjalarnes

The Saga of Bardur

The Saga of Gunnar the Wrestler

Floamanna Saga

Valia-Ljot’s Saga

The Saga of Gissly Sursson

The Saga of the Blood Brothers

The Saga of Hordur and the Islanders

The Saga of the People of the Salmon River Valley

The Saga of Thord the Menace

The Saga of Korakur

The Saga of Hallfred, the Troublesome Poet

The Saga of Gunnlaug, Serpent Tongue

The Saga of Trouble Dale

The Saga of Vopnafjord

The Saga of Grettir the Strong

Smoke-Valley Saga and of Killer Skuta

The Saga of Viglund

The Saga of Eric the Red (America’s Sagas)

The Saga of the Greenlanders (America Sagas)

The Saga of the Heath Murders

The Saga of Thorstein from Sida

The Saga of the People of River Valley

The Saga of Sons of Droplaug

Ljosvetning Saga

The Saga of Burnt Njall

The Saga of Chicken Thorir.

Iceland: The Land of Ice and Fire

Iceland: The Land of Ice and Fire

Iceland looks like a lonely little island in the middle of the north Atlantic Ocean, but don’t let the size fool you.

This hyperactive island is graced with a wonderfully diverse landscape of mighty rivers and fertile valleys, majestic glaciers and mountains, active volcanoes, ancient lava fields and desolate highlands .In fact, the only thing small about it, is its human population of 330 000.

Iceland is on the mid-Atlantic Ridge of two shifting continental plates separating Europe from America.

Volcanoes can be found all over the country, although not all of them are active.

Hekla, as beautiful as she is, was once thought to be the entrance to hell. Other volcanoes include the irritable, threatening Katla, situated on Mýrdalsjökull and Eyjafjallajökull, the great disrupter of air traffic. These are all in the south and have all erupted within the last century, along with Krafla in the north.

Approximately 11% of Iceland’s total area is covered by glaciers. Vatnajökull, is the largest one and its ice cap is up to 1 km thick in places. Langjökull, in the west, has a man-made ice cave and is easily reached from Reykjavik for day tours.

Iceland's Landscape. Photo by Olga

One of the smaller glaciers, Snæfellsjökull on the Snæfellsnes Peninsula is the locale for Jules Verne’s famous novel, Journey to the Centre of the Earth.

Meltwater from the glaciers feeds rivers and creates beautiful waterfalls which are visible all over the country. Many of the spring-fed rivers and lakes contain salmon, trout and arctic char. Other visible signs of eruptions are the beautiful lava fields that make up 11% of Iceland’s surface.

Geothermal energy is harnessed for heating buildings and the production of electricity. Almost 90% of Icelandic homes are heated in this way. In fact there are only 31 so-called cold areas in the country, which use hydro-electric power instead.

Fossil fuels are used mainly for transport and industrial purposes and make up around 15% of total energy consumption.

As a result of the utilization of geothermal energy, Iceland suffers minimal environmental pollution.The Icelandic people are a hardy bunch. Somewhat reserved and family-oriented, they have a strong work ethic, a great love of nature and an amazing strength in standing together in times of strife.

Everyone remembers the unforgettable EM 2016 and the famous Viking clap HÚ! Icelanders’ overall optimism is reflected in the attitude of “Þetta reddast” (it will all work out), and sure enough, it does, one way or another.