The ice cap on Langjokull glacier stretches almost 50 km from north to south and is on average between 15 and 20 km wide. The Golden Circle Tour as a day tour can add a visit to the glacier and a snowmobile ride on the ice although this needs to be planned and booked in advance. The south-east side of the glacier can be reached from Gullfoss Waterfall if you are doing The Golden Circle and the south-west from Þingvellir National Park via one of the highland roads. The main route to the Into The Glacier operation is through Borgarfjörður, first reaching the town of Borgarnes via the ring road and then head further inland. Going along road 50 we reach the largest hot spring in Europe Deildartunguhver close to the settlement of Reykholt which was home to the great medieval scholar Snorri Sturluson, believed to be the author of some of the icelandic sagas, Egil Saga in particular. Hraunfossar, The Waterfalls in the Lava, are an absolutely beautiful series of waterfalls coming from underneath an ancient lava field overgrown with a wild birch forest.
When going to Langjökull on the west side, where the man made ice tunnel is situated and the Into The Glacier operation works from, we go through Húsafell, a popular holiday spot. Húsafell is a birch forest right on the edge of the highland tracks which has numerous cottages as well as the lovely Hotel Húsafell complete with a bar and swimming pool supplied with hot water from a nearby geothermal hot spring. Going up to the glacier and on it requires special vehicles, monster trucks, which will take you all the way to the top. Another track in the area takes you to the lava cave Víðgelmir, which has been made safe for visitors and can be explored with a local guide.
The view from the top of Langjökull glacier is absolutely fantastic on clear days. At an elevation of almost 1500 meters from sea level there is a view into the highlands to the north and east, and out to sea to the west and south. If you are on the glacier after dark on a clear night you should definitely keep your eyes in the sky since it is an amazing place to see the northern lights.
A visit to glacier is always an experience whether you choose hiking, snowmobiling or going into it either via man made tunnel or a natural cave, but it should be absolutely clear that glaciers can be very unstable and that going on one should always be with an experienced person preferably a local guide.
