Katla Ice Cave and Super Jeep Tour from Vik

Vík í Mýrdal

Vík í Mýrdal is the southernmost village in Iceland, a small coastal town sheltered by green cliffs and watched over by a red-roofed church on the hill above. Just west of town lies Reynisfjara, the famous black sand beach with its basalt columns and the Reynisdrangar sea stacks rising from the surf; to the east the land opens into the huge sand plains of Mýrdalssandur.

Vík sits about two and a half hours' drive east of Reykjavík on the Ring Road, which makes it the natural base for a Katla ice cave day trip and for exploring the south coast. The tour leaves from an office on Austurvegur, the main street, with parking nearby. If you have time, visit Reynisfjara before or after the tour, but keep well back from the waves, which can be dangerous.

Mýrdalssandur, the black sand plains

Leaving town, the Super Jeep heads off the paved road onto Mýrdalssandur, a vast outwash plain of black volcanic sand and gravel. It was built up over centuries by glacial floods released when Katla erupted beneath its ice; the flood of 1918 carried so much material to the sea that it pushed the coastline out by several kilometres, creating Kötlutangi, now the southernmost point of mainland Iceland.

The high-clearance Super Jeep is made for this terrain, fording streams and rolling over ridges of sand where ordinary cars cannot go, and the ride itself is part of the fun. Your guide tells the story of the floods and points out how the landscape keeps changing, so the drive feels like crossing another planet before you even reach the ice.

Mýrdalsjökull glacier and the Katla volcano

Mýrdalsjökull is the fourth largest glacier in Iceland, and beneath its ice lies Katla, one of the country's most powerful volcanoes. Katla last erupted in a major way in 1918 and is closely watched by scientists. The surrounding area is part of Katla UNESCO Global Geopark, recognised for its volcanoes, glaciers and the story they tell of how Iceland was shaped.

At the edge of the glacier your guide fits crampons and a helmet and leads a short, easy walk on the ice. Here you see the meeting of fire and ice up close: dirty grey ice streaked with ash, meltwater channels and views back across the plains to the sea. No glacier experience is needed for this part of the trip.

Inside the Katla ice cave

The Katla ice cave is formed in an outlet glacier of Mýrdalsjökull, and its walls are striped with bright blue ice and thick black layers of volcanic ash from past eruptions. Inside, you walk through tunnels and chambers while the guide explains how meltwater carved them and why the ash gives this cave its unique look compared with the pure blue caves of Vatnajökull.

Ice caves are always changing with temperature and ice movement, so the cave may look different from photos, and the guide always chooses the most beautiful and safe areas on the day. There is plenty of time for pictures. Is the Katla ice cave worth visiting? For many travellers it is the highlight of the south coast, and it is reachable in a short half-day from Vík.