Land of glaciers, geysers and gargantuan peaks, Iceland is long established as a landscape-lovers’ paradise, and the country is rapidly earning a name for itself as the go-to destination for adventure travellers. Since June 2015, Iceland has been home to a unique ice cap exploration experience: Into The Glacier; the longest man made ice tunnel in the world.
 
The tunnel traverses Europe’s second largest glacier, Langjökull (Long Glacier), a 195 km3 giant, within day-trip distance from Reykjavik. The new attraction, which could rightfully be titled Journey to the Centre of the Ice Cap, lets visitors meander their way through caves and caverns via a manmade path, circled by ice as thick as 580 metres. The LED-lit tunnel stretches 200-300 metres into Langjökull’s glacier, a natural structure which sits a colossal 1,200 metres above sea level. Now, for the first time ever, visitors can come and see Iceland from the inside out – deep within the country’s tallest and coolest glacier.
 
Langjökull 
 
Langjökull is located in Iceland’s mid-west highlands, a 30 minute ascent from scenic Husafell, which can be reached in 1 hour 40 minutes from Reykjavik. The mid-west highlands are also home to Iceland’s Golden Circle, comprising of several spectacular volcanoes, the gorgeous Gulfoss Waterfall and popular Thingvellir National Park; all of which can be incorporated into an extended tour of the region.
 
An Exclusive Tour of Langjökull with Into The Glacier is a three part venture in itself, offering adventurous types the opportunity to explore around, on and inside the gigantic Icelandic ice cap. With Into The Glacier, visitors are typically picked up in Reykjavik and taken via Deildartunguhver and Hraunfossar to Husafell, with chance to gawp at Hvalfjordur fjord’s whales, coastal views and mountain backdrops en route. The final ascent to the glacier can then be taken aboard a private 8 wheel drive truck, heartily equipped with Wi-Fi and an experienced English-speaking guide.
 
From the entrance to the ice cave onwards, adventurers delve deep within the glacier, with chances to witness global warming first-hand and admire the brilliant blue glow of the turquoise ice at Langjökull’s core. Visitors will step precariously along the middle of the glacier’s crevasse on a purpose-built bridge, free to marvel at the several hundred year-old, naturally formed centre, and learn a little more about sub-glacial environments and the construction of the attraction’s tunnels along the way. The extra-adventurous can opt for a Helicopter Tour direct from Reykjavik airport, soaring high above the lava fields, colourful craters and colliding tectonic plates of Thingvellir before their chilling ascent up, and descent inside, the giant glacier.
 
Into The Glacier 
 
Higher, deeper and on a much larger scale than the handful of ice-tunnel trips available elsewhere on the globe, Into The Glacier offer a wholly unique sub-glacial experience, no matter which of their tours tickles your fancy. What lies under the surface of Langjökull remained a mystery to all but a small group of scientists and glaciologists until 2010, when Iceland’s leading engineers, Baldvin Einarsson and Hallgrimur Örn Arngrímsson, along with renowned geo physicist and presidential candidate, Ari Trausti Guðmundsson, studied, planned and prepared for a feat never before seen: the world’s biggest, longest and most intimate man-made Ice Cave.
 
Their vision to take people deep into the heart of Langjökull to marvel at the magnificent “blue ice” buried beneath its surface has now become a dizzying reality, and a trip to the glacier is an absolute must for anybody visiting Iceland with an appetite for adventure. But be warned – Into The Glacier is fundamentally a summer attraction, and those visiting in winter may find their visit restricted, or even cancelled due to severe road and weather conditions. Advance summer bookings can be made on Into The Glacier’s website. 

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