Solheimajokull Blue Ice Glacier Hike near Vik

Sólheimajökull glacier

Sólheimajökull is an outlet glacier that flows down from Mýrdalsjökull, the ice cap covering the Katla volcano, into a narrow valley close to the south coast. Because it reaches so low and so near the Ring Road, it is one of the easiest glaciers in Iceland to visit, and its surface is a mix of white snow, deep blue ice and black streaks of ash.

With a guide on Sólheimajökull you walk among ridges, ice towers, sinkholes and crevasses, with your guide choosing the safest route of the day and explaining how the ice moves and melts. Expect around two hours on the ice within the 4-hour tour, with plenty of photo stops. No experience is needed; the guide shows you how to walk with crampons and use the ice pick.

The glacier lagoon and a retreating glacier

From the car park a short trail leads past the lagoon that has formed at the snout of the glacier. A few decades ago the ice reached almost to the parking area; today you walk for a while before touching it, and signs along the path mark where the glacier front stood in different years, a striking picture of how quickly Iceland's glaciers are shrinking.

The meltwater river that drains the glacier, Jökulsá á Sólheimasandi, is known locally for its sulphur smell, a sign of geothermal activity under Mýrdalsjökull. Your guide explains how these clues help scientists watch the volcano. It is a good spot for photos of the whole glacier tongue before you put on your crampons at the edge of the ice.

Ash layers and the Katla volcano

The black bands frozen inside Sólheimajökull are layers of volcanic ash, mostly from eruptions of Katla, the powerful volcano hidden under Mýrdalsjökull. Each layer settled on the snow after an eruption, was buried, compressed into ice and slowly carried downhill, so walking across the glacier is like reading a timeline of the region's volcanic history.

Katla last erupted in a major way in 1918 and is one of the most closely monitored volcanoes in Iceland. The area is part of Katla UNESCO Global Geopark, and your guide will point out the ash bands that match known eruptions. If you want to see this fire-and-ice landscape from inside, the Katla ice cave tour from Vík is a natural partner to this hike.

Vík and the south coast around the glacier

Sólheimajökull sits in the middle of Iceland's most scenic stretch of coast. About 10 minutes west is Skógafoss, a powerful waterfall around 60 metres high; further west Seljalandsfoss lets you walk behind its curtain of water. To the east lies Vík, with the black sand beach of Reynisfjara and the Reynisdrangar sea stacks nearby.

How to get to Sólheimajökull: turn off the Ring Road onto road 221 between Skógar and Vík and drive to the car park at its end, about 30 minutes from Vík and roughly two and a half hours from Reykjavík. The best time to visit Sólheimajökull is any season; summer has long days, while winter shows the clearest blue ice.