Trip to Iceland Post #21: Solheimajokull Glacier

After our visit of three waterfalls on our second to last full day in Iceland we drove further down the road to see the Solheimajokull Glacier. My wife and I visited this glacier on our visit in 2014 and I was very curious to see how much this glacier had receded. I also wanted to make sure my kids had a chance in their lives to visit a glacier. Each year it is more difficult to see a glacier in person as they melt and recede due to increased global temperatures and climate change.

This was a beautiful glacier as you can see in the pictures below. But it has receded and receded significantly in just the last 4 years.

Amazing, but receding. Visit soon as this glacier is receding up the mountain. It will still be accessible for several decades, but the walk back to view it gets farther and farther every year. So definitely make this a priority if you visit Iceland and head to the south part of the island. There are not many places left in the world to easily reach a glacier, and this is one of them.

In the image above you can see people walking on the glacier. My kids weren't old enough for this excursion, but our next trip to Iceland (and there will be one!) will include a glacier excursion and not just a view of one. These excursions are expensive, but others we spoke to said the cost is well worth it. It's similar to the whale watching tour we did. Expensive, but well worth it!