Snæfellsjökull Glacier
Snæfellsjökull is a glacier-capped stratovolcano at the westernmost tip of the Snæfellsnes Peninsula, rising 1,446 metres above sea level. On clear days it is visible across Faxaflói Bay from Reykjavík, 120 kilometres to the southeast. The volcano is around 700,000 years old and last erupted approximately 1,800 years ago; it is considered dormant but active. A glacier covers the summit crater to a depth of around 200 metres. Jules Verne chose Snæfellsjökull as the entrance to the Earth's interior in his 1864 novel Journey to the Centre of the Earth, following research into Icelandic geology. The mountain has inspired a significant body of literature since, including Halldór Laxness's novel Under the Glacier, written at the site and named after it. The glacier has retreated by roughly 15 percent since the Little Ice Age and may disappear within decades without significant climate intervention.
A Glacier-Capped Volcano Visible from Reykjavík, the Setting for Jules Verne's Most Famous Journey and a Real Destination for Glacier Hikers
Snæfellsjökull formed over multiple eruption cycles spanning 700,000 years, building up as successive lava flows cooled and solidified into the symmetrical cone that dominates the western tip of the Snæfellsnes Peninsula. The summit holds three overlapping crater rims from different eruptive periods, the highest being Goðaborg at 1,446 metres. The glacier covering the summit formed during the last ice age and has persisted through subsequent warming periods, though it has retreated significantly since the 19th century and scientists consider it at serious risk from continued climate warming. The first known recorded ascent of the summit was made in 1754. The volcano sits within Snæfellsjökull National Park, the only national park in Iceland with coastal access, covering the western tip of the peninsula including lava fields, sea cliffs, and coastal nature at the glacier's base.
Jules Verne researched Iceland extensively before writing Journey to the Centre of the Earth, published in 1864, and chose Snæfellsjökull specifically for its remote, mysterious profile at the edge of the known world. In the novel, Professor Lidenbrock decodes a cryptic manuscript written by the 16th-century Icelandic alchemist Arne Saknussemm and follows its instructions to descend into the volcano's crater at midsummer, when the shadow of the peak of Scartaris falls across the correct vent. The novel made the glacier famous across Europe and drew the first wave of literary tourism to Iceland. Halldór Laxness, Iceland's only Nobel laureate in literature, wrote his novel Under the Glacier while staying near the mountain in the 1960s, adding a second major literary layer to the site. Both books remain in print.
Guided glacier hikes operate on Snæfellsjökull from approximately June to September, departing from the base of the glacier near Arnarstapi or from the Snæfellsjökull National Park visitor centre at Hellnar. Tours typically take three to five hours and cover the lower and mid sections of the glacier with crampons and ice axes provided. Summit attempts require good weather, a qualified guide, and a higher level of fitness. The mountain can be driven close to via the F570 highland road in summer with a 4WD vehicle, bringing visitors within a short hike of the glacier edge. The national park is free to enter. From Reykjavík the drive to Arnarstapi takes approximately two and a half hours via Route 54.
