Iceland Six-Day Five-Night Trip Journal: Helicopter Volcano Sightseeing Experience, Overlooking the Magnificent Lava Land

Iceland Six Days Five Nights Travel Journal - Guide to Iceland Local Group Tour

3/24 A journey always leaves a few small regrets, and that's exactly what becomes the reason to come back next time. The Blue Lagoon is still closed because of nearby volcanic activity, so unfortunately I couldn't experience soaking in a hot spring in Iceland this time. But still! I happened to encounter such a rare volcanic eruption — how could I not go see it!? The 15,000 helicopter volcano tour was something I closed the window on right after seeing the price, but first my British travel companion Zongying said without any hesitation, "Why not go, it's a rare chance!" Then yesterday MOMO also said they wanted to go, so we decided this morning to arrange to join this helicopter volcano-viewing trip with MOMO! Booked the helicopter trip through Getyourguide The meeting time is 11:30, so we can leisurely have breakfast at the hotel, then do one last round of shopping to finish buying souvenirs, before walking over to the domestic terminal next to downtown to gather. This is the helicopter we'll be boarding shortly, and it's also my very first helicopter experience!

One helicopter round could carry five people. The night before, when we signed up, this round wasn't full yet, but the travel agency confidently said it would definitely fill up, so there was no need to worry about cancellation! Before departure, the ground staff helped us take a photo

The takeoff was smoother than expected, and the flight altitude wasn't too high, so the buildings below looked very clear; in the distance, I could see a corner of the Reykjanes Peninsula

Let me tell you about Iceland's volcanic history. The Fagradalsfjall eruption occurred in 2021, and the previous volcanic activity on the Reykjanes Peninsula was 800 years ago, so at that time people from all over the world flocked in to appreciate the power of the volcano. In 2022, Fagradalsfjall erupted again, and it similarly attracted tourists from around the world to come and watch.In 2023, the Litli-Hrutur volcano first erupted for a month, and then Sundhnukagigar erupted at the end of the year. This volcano had last erupted 2,500 years ago, and this eruption caused severe damage to a nearby town. Since then, people can only view the volcano by helicopter, and it's no longer possible to view it on your own from a nearby hilltop. Volcanic activity has been frequent this year — this eruption in March is the fourth since the eruption last December, and this eruption site is the same area as the one that erupted on February 8th, belonging to Sundhnukagigar. As I gradually approached the volcano, I could already see billows of thick smoke and an entire expanse of black, cooled lava. Because my line of sight in the helicopter could only clearly see the right side, it wasn't until the crater appeared to my lower right that I was finally able to see it.

Finally saw the crater, the orange-red lava was constantly churning. The main active area had two crater openings, and behind there were also two smaller and quieter ones, the four craters arranged in a straight line.

Behind the crater was the flowing lava, with orange and black intertwined. What I had previously seen as an animation in the science museum was now directly brought to life in reality. Add video After the first pass, the helicopter shifted angles to let the passengers on the other side view the sight. We were fortunate to have two opportunities to appreciate the volcano on our side. Besides the erupting volcano, the helicopter also took us to the craters from 2021 and 2023. However, during this flight the crater was on the left side, and we couldn't get a very good spot for taking photos.

Back to downtown Reykjavik

The whole flight only lasted 35 minutes, but it was such a great experience! After the helicopter tour, we relaxed and headed back to the city. Yes, I feel like this Iceland trip has fully satisfied me! I can temporarily take this faraway country off my travel bucket list, but if someone asks me about the best places I've ever traveled to, Iceland would still be in my TOP 5. With some time left before the airport shuttle bus, we agreed to meet up at a café — Reykjavik Roasters is said to be the best coffee shop in Iceland. I ordered a cup of coffee with an avocado croissant for afternoon tea~

It was almost time to head back, but MOMO suggested going to eat at a nearby ice cream place. I didn't expect it to be Valdis — this place was actually on my target list too, but the shop I'd found was down at the harbor, so I never had the chance to go. It seems like besides the hot springs, Iceland isn't leaving me with any regrets at all!

This is an Italian gelato shop with many flavors. I chose the eggnog/liqueur flavor. Cheers with gelato, thank you for this encounter of ours!

We took off at 6 o'clock, leaving Iceland behind, bringing this journey of ice and fire to a close.

Postscript 1: Because tonight's aurora index was 6!! I was really looking forward to seeing whether we could catch the aurora from the plane, but unfortunately by the time the sky got dark enough, we had already arrived over UK airspace, so we had no chance to see the aurora (if we had flown the opposite direction, we might have had a chance). After getting off the plane, I quickly checked with MOMO & BOBO, who were still in Iceland, and sure enough, the aurora could be seen right in the city. But since we had already seen it these past few days, they didn't specifically go out to a spot free of light pollution to look for it. Postscript 2: Prices in Iceland are really high, so we didn't buy too many souvenirs. Worth mentioning is that there's no Starbucks in Iceland either, but while browsing a souvenir shop I spotted a mug with a very "city cup" style design, so I bought it!

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