Iceland’s Ring Road

ICELAND - Visiting Iceland is not for the faint of heart. On my recent visit there I was threatened by a lava-spewing volcano, buffeted with wind, frozen with cold, and steamed like a lobster in geothermal pools. I've forgiven Iceland for all of it. In fact, by the time I left, I was hoping that simmering volcano would fully erupt so I had an excuse to stay longer.

The best way to see Iceland is on its Ring Road, one of the world's great drives. This past September my husband and I spent eight days on this highway that traverses the perimeter of the island. When we started, we kept comparing the landscape to other places we had seen, from Scotland and New Zealand to Wyoming. But gradually the comparisons stopped, for the ever-changing vistas proved themselves unlike any place we'd seen before.

Part of what makes Iceland so usual is simply the variety of terrain it includes: mountains, waterfalls, volcanoes, geysers, fjords, black sand beaches, high deserts, fertile pastures, lava-blasted wastelands and enormous glaciers. The country is both gorgeously green and as bleak as Mordor in the Lord of the Rings, with cold winds that chill you and outdoor hot tubs that warm you back up again.

After flying into Reykjavik, on our first day we visited the symbolic heart of the country: Thingvellir, the place where representatives of all the tribes of Iceland met once a year from 930 to 1798. In 1944, the nation gathered again at Thingvellir to celebrate Iceland's independence from Denmark. The site is also significant for its geology, for it sits on the fault line between the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates (the two plates are splitting apart at a rate of two inches each year).

A short drive brought us to another of Iceland's national treasures: Gullfoss, considered by many to be the most beautiful waterfall in a country overflowing with cataracts. Here the waters of the Hvita River pour into a gorge 230 feet deep, creating a cascade that shakes the ground beneath one's feet.

From there we drove counterclockwise around the island, heading first to the south shore. In addition to spectacular waterfalls, we got our first views of glaciers along the way, their great tongues of ice creeping down into verdant valleys. We learned more about the geologic volatility of the landscape at a visitor center dedicated to Eyjafjallajökull, the tongue-twisting volcano whose eruption in 2010 caused the cancellation of thousands of flights in Europe.

'Here in Iceland we love our volcanoes,” says Gudny Valberg, whose family operates the visitor center across the road from their farm, which was covered in ash after the eruption. 'We just hope they don't go off very often.”

In the harbor town of Vik, we marveled at the Troll Rocks of Reynisdragar, basalt spikes in the sea that are said to be the masts of a troll ship turned to stone by the morning sun. A hundred miles down the road, the lagoon at Jökulsárlón had another natural wonder: calving glaciers floating like impossibly large ice cubes in the blue water.

The route next wound along the East Fjords, one of the most remote regions of Iceland. The mountains here are nearly devoid of vegetation, making it easy to see their layers of colored minerals. Tiny villages cling to the shoreline, offering a place for a meal of freshly caught fish and a gasoline refill (one definitely does not want to run out on this road).

The Ring Road then turned more challenging as its pavement gave way to gravel for about 80 miles, the route leading through a desolate stretch of arid mountains. Our sturdy rental car eventually brought us around to a more scenic region, Mývatn, which is one of the most geologically active parts of the country. The valley has plumes of steam rising from the earth and many of its fields are split and tumbled by past earthquakes. Lake Mývatn - which is overshadowed by the immense cone left by a volcano that erupted 2,500 years ago - is especially known for its birdlife, particularly waterfowl. After hiking and bird-watching, my husband and I soaked our weary muscles at the Mývatn Naturebath, whose warm, silky waters are rich with minerals and silicates.

On the Ring Road, each day brings a completely different landscape, so it was no surprise when the landscape shifted yet again once we reached Tröllaskagi, or Troll Peninsula. With its steep valleys, emerald mountains, and rocky coastline, this region did indeed seem enchanted, though we didn't see any of the magical creatures that are common in Icelandic folklore.

Finally, we came to the Snæfellsnes Peninsula, home to the most beautiful glacier in Iceland, a perfectly shaped cone that is the subject of many stories and legends (the volcano beneath the ice is said to lead to the center of the earth). There we hiked the coastal trail between the villages of Hellnar and Arnarstapi, a strong wind buffeting us as we walked along a wave-pounded cliff.

I've traveled widely, but Iceland captured my imagination and heart like no other country. I treasure my memories of hikes up steep mountain canyons, meals of fish soup served in tiny cafes overlooking the sea, rides on sturdy Icelandic horses, soaks in outdoor hot tubs with a cold rain needling our faces, and nights when we marveled at the northern lights dancing across the sky. But when I look back, what I remember most is that endless ribbon of highway, beckoning us ever onward, teasing us with the prospect of yet one more radiant expanse of sea, sky and earth.