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Ninety seconds on Sólheimajökull
Looking across a meltwater lagoon a flat walk from the car park, you see Sólheimajökull's tongue of ice striped black with volcanic ash. With a certified guide, who supplies the crampons, you can climb onto it.
Sólheimajökull is an outlet glacier, a tongue of ice flowing down from the Mýrdalsjökull ice cap. Look first at its colour. Layers of volcanic ash band it black and white, and where the surface is clean the ice shows a vivid blue.
Then look at the water in front of it. The lagoon fills ground the ice covered until recently, and the glacier has pulled back more than 1 km since 2000.
The surface looks solid but is crossed by crevasses and moulins, deep holes that are often invisible from above. That is why the ice beyond the viewpoint is guided only. An ice cave sometimes forms in the glacier, but none is ever guaranteed, so do not plan the trip around one.
The car park below the glacier is where the visit starts, and it is also the meeting point for guided hikes. Pay for parking in the Parka app within 24 hours of leaving. Facilities at the car park are limited and may not always be open or well kept, particularly in winter.
From there a flat path leads to the marked glacier viewpoint, about 15 to 20 minutes each way. The path gets longer as the glacier retreats, so allow extra time. The viewpoint, looking over the lagoon to the ice, is as far as you may go on your own.
On a guided hike, leave time at the car park for check-in and for fitting your clothing before the same approach walk.
Walking on the ice needs a certified guide. Guides are certified through the Association of Icelandic Mountain Guides and hand out crampons, helmets and ice axes, so you bring no ice gear of your own. They explain the ash layers as you go.
For beginners, a shorter edge walk follows a mostly flat route past a meltwater river to the glacier's edge.
Book ahead in summer, and check the operator's minimum age when you book: glacier hikes are not suitable for toddlers or very young children.
Dress for wet, cold weather in any season: waterproof outer layers, boots with ankle support, gloves and a hat. The walk to the viewpoint alone needs only closed shoes, but the path can be muddy or icy.
Rockfall can happen along most of the trail, so keep moving beneath steep slopes.
The weather can turn quickly here. If it does, head back to the car and rebook the hike rather than risk being stranded.
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