“The icebergs at Jokulsarlon break straight off a glacier tongue and drift across Iceland's deepest lake to the sea — a lagoon that didn't exist a century ago and grows every year as the ice retreats.”
About Jökulsárlón
Jokulsarlon began forming around 1934-35 as the Breidamerkurjokull glacier started retreating from the coast, leaving a meltwater lagoon that has quadrupled in size since the 1970s. It is now over 280 metres deep, the deepest lake in the country. Its dramatic setting has drawn film crews for decades, including James Bond and Batman productions.
Overview Jokulsarlon is a lagoon where icebergs calve directly off the Breidamerkurjokull glacier, an outlet of the vast Vatnajokull ice cap, and drift slowly toward the sea. It is the deepest lake in Iceland, formed only in the twentieth century as the glacier retreated, and it has grown steadily as the ice melts. Seals haul out on the bergs and the water shifts between milky white and electric blue.
Overview Jokulsarlon is a lagoon where icebergs calve directly off the Breidamerkurjokull glacier, an outlet of the vast Vatnajokull ice cap, and drift slowly toward the sea.
The Drift The icebergs move on the tide through a short channel to the Atlantic. Some wash back up on the black sand opposite — Diamond Beach. Boat tours weave between the bergs in summer; in winter the lagoon part-freezes and the light goes long and low.
The Experience
You stand at the edge of a lagoon studded with floating ice in shades of white, blue and ash-streaked grey, occasionally hearing a crack and splash as a berg rolls or calves. Seals surface among the ice. An amphibious or zodiac boat tour takes you out among the larger bergs in summer; otherwise the shoreline walk and the bridge over the outlet channel are free and unhurried.
Why It Matters
Jokulsarlon is the most visible monument to glacial retreat in Iceland — a lake that is itself a product of warming, expanding decade by decade. It anchors the south-coast route to Vatnajokull National Park and feeds the ice that makes neighbouring Diamond Beach.
Jokulsarlon is the most visible monument to glacial retreat in Iceland — a lake that is itself a product of warming, expanding decade by decade.
Why Visit
Nowhere else in Iceland lets you stand so close to calving glacier ice at sea level, with seals and drifting bergs in one frame. Cross the road to Diamond Beach while you are there, and time a visit for the low light of early morning or late evening.
✦ Insider Tips
- 1
Walk across to Diamond Beach on the seaward side — calved ice washes up on the black sand right there.
- 2
Boat tours operate only in the warmer months and sell out; book ahead if you want to get out on the water.
- 3
It is around a five-hour drive from Reykjavik, so most visitors stay a night nearby rather than day-tripping.
- 4
Watch for seals on the bergs and keep well back from the unstable ice along the shoreline.
