Snaefellsnes (Snæfellsnes) Peninsula
Snaefellsnes (Snæfellsnes) Peninsula
In several ways, Snaefellsnes is a microcosm of the whole island with an astonishingly varied landscape: craters and lava flow, glaciated mountains and ice-sculpted fjords, golden sand and black pebble beaches and surf-pounded cliffs.
The mountainous backbone of the peninsula juts into the sea like a long arm with a clenched fist, the famous Snaefellsjokull volcano, a National Park, at its tip. Snaefellsnes is also home to one of Iceland's most striking mountains, steeple-shaped Kirkjufell.
Many of the mountains on the peninsula are of rhyolite, their hues of green, blue, yellow, orange and red becoming more apparent the closer you get.
There are many little waterfalls, countless lakes and ponds, and numerous salmon-fishing rivers. Spectacular sea cliffs host colonies of breeding kittiwakes, guillemots, and fulmars, and arctic foxes are numerous, though wary.
The north shore of the peninsula is one of the best places in Iceland to observe white-tailed eagles.
Whale watching is almost a year-round activity with winter trips running from Grundarfjordur and summer trips from Olafsvik.