Gardens Follow

The milky waters of the Blue Lagoon are an iconic image of Iceland, but for something less crowded and more natural, make for Landmannalaugar (landmannalaugar.info) in the centre of the island. It's inaccessible in winter, but by summer the road is clear and hikers arrive to soothe their muscles with a quick dip in the geothermal waters that feed into local brooks. Hire cars are forbidden to drive here, but there are regular buses from Reykjavik from mid-June to mid-September.