Icy Cool Reykjavik

"Watch your head!" calls Jan, my guide, who's a few metres away.  I'm already squatting on all fours but, up ahead, the ceiling dips so sharply that I'll have to lie flat and shuffle forward on my belly. 

I'm in a cave, in Iceland, miles from anywhere.  Just a few hours ago, this seemed like a great idea.  Cave excursions are becoming more and more popular here, with groups of people spending whole weekends underground, investigating lava tubes created thousands of years ago after volcanic eruptions. 

Now, I'm having my doubts.  An hour's drive from the capital Reykjavik, even Jan has been wrong footed twice, searching for 20 minutes to find the cave he wants to take me into.  And that's because there are hundreds of them here.  They're hidden between pre-ice age mountains and beneath snow and rocky terrain so stark, its like a cross between a breath-taking heaven and barren hell.

But cave excursions are just one reason people are travelling to Iceland these days.  There's also the fact that, for the first time in years, it has become a very affordable tourist destination.

It all began six months ago when Iceland became one of the worst casualties of the global economic crisis.  With its banking system in meltdown in October 2008, the government took charge, applying to the International Monetary Fund for emergency financial aid by November – the first country to do so in over 30 years. 

"Get up close to Reykjavik and you'll discover a thriving city and hub of creativity and enterprise, which is now sadly fighting for its survival."
Icy cool Reykjavik

Since then, Icelanders, who enjoyed one of the highest standards of living over the past few decades, have watched it crash around them.  Along with their currency, the Krona, nose-diving, they have lost their savings, pensions and, in a growing number of cases, their jobs. 

But, rather than focus on the negative, the government and Iceland's 300,000 population is attempting to boost the situation through tourism.  And, as is customary here, local industry is getting right behind them including Icelandair which is cutting its prices, alongside hotels, bars and restaurants.

On first impressions, Reykjavik looks more like a skiing town - all quaint, wooden and small - with its one main street, Laugevegur.  Its parliament building is a pretty brick and glass construction but is the equivalent size of a Tesco supermarket, while City Hall is certainly no bigger.  Not even its main museum, 871+-2 , which refers to the year the Vikings landed on the island (give or take one or two years), is any larger than a couple of rooms. 

Icy cool Reykjavik

But what it lacks in size, it more than makes up for in style.  Get up close and personal in Reykjavik and you'll discover a thriving city and hub of creativity and enterprise, which is now sadly fighting for its survival. 

It has achingly hip shops which range from designer to vintage, a thriving music industry from which numerous famous bands and singers (including Bjork) have emerged, and has super slick bars, world class cuisine and fabulous boutique hotels. 

Just 30 minutes out of Reykjavik is the famous Blue Lagoon geothermal spa whose steamy waters, rich in disease-fighting minerals such as silica and sulphur, are part of a lava formation.  Meanwhile, Yoko Ono's Imagine Peace Tower is a boat ride away, and it's just a short drive to some of the country's top ski resorts which peak out amongst whipped cream mountains.  

"Get up close to Reykjavik and you'll discover a thriving city and hub of creativity and enterprise, which is now sadly fighting for its survival."

Within an hour of Reykjavik is the ‘Golden Circle' of Iceland's natural wonders.  This includes the Gulfoss, a magnificent waterfall located in the canyon of the Hvítá River.  Close by is the original Geysir - a spouting hot spring, jetting water 200-ft into the sky.  Although Geysir has not erupted in recent years, the Strokkur nearby spouts a 60-ft jet of water into the air every five minutes.

Icy cool Reykjavik

Thingvellir, the National Park, is the third element of the Golden Circle.  It is also the location of the world's first parliament, ‘Althing'.  Between 930AD and 1262AD, representatives from across Iceland would meet there once a year to elect leaders, argue cases and settle disputes.  It's also a remarkable location, set on a rift valley, part of the Great Atlantic Rift basin, which is 10,000 years old. 

It was back to Thingvellir National Park I travelled another night in search of a glimpse of the Northern Lights.  This is a scientific process which takes place when solar wind particles collide with air molecules in the earth's atmosphere, transferring their energy into light.  This results in green or even multi coloured lights dancing in the sky. 

But catching a glimpse of the Northern Lights is always unpredictable, and I am one of the unlucky visitors that week who see just a faded green tinge in the distance, after waiting two hours in the cold.

And it is very cold.  Along with its extended hours of darkness in winter months, January and February can be toe-crunchingly, face-freezingly icy.  But then this is also an essential element of the island, with 70 per cent of its electricity generated through hydroelectric and geothermal power – along with 100 per cent of its heat.

With these rich resources, Iceland's long history of survival in harsh conditions, and its determinedness to pull together in tough times, experts say this will see them through the rough economic period.  Before that happens though – and if history is anything to go by, this may be sooner than expected – don your snow boots, a jacket and take a flight out there.  Dine at the best restaurants, stay at the best hotels and drink at their best bars for half of what you would have paid a year ago.  And don't feel guilty.  The Icelanders insist you're doing them a favour.   

Click onto www.icelandair.co.uk and www.visiticeland.com for more information.

Where to stay?
Boutique hotels

Where to eat?

  • Panorama Restaurant at the top of Centerhotel Arnarhvoll hotel – French Scandinavian
  • Fish Market – Asian-influence fish cuisine – superb!
  • Einar Ben – traditional Icelandic
  • A naestu grosum – vegetarian lunch venue

Where to drink?

  • Hotel 101 bar – part of the hotel (see Where to stay?)
  • Kaffibarann - Damon Albarn of Blur's former hangout
  • B5 bar and bistro
  • Solon café
  • Café Oliver

Where to shop?

By Barbara Walshe

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