Visiting the ice caves of Iceland has always been a dream destination. The wonders of nature’s handiwork is on full display. This was truly an adventure is every sense, but a must do if you are ever fortunate enough to visit Iceland. Our trek to the ice caves of Katla in the Myrdalsjokull Glacier was undertaken in February.
Getting There
We booked our ice cave tour through Arctic Adventures. The tour was named: Under The Volcano – Katla Ice cave Tour From Vik. Our tour guides arranged for pickup at a local shoppe in Vik where we boarded 3 Super Jeeps for the trip to the glacier. From the start it was an adventure. The jeeps are extremely high and getting onboard was difficult for a few elderly people in the group.
The trip is advertised as a 3 hour excursion. Our adventure that day would take approximately 6 hours. Normally, the trip from Vik to the ice caves should take less than an hour. On this day the trip took over 2 hours with our Super Jeeps getting stuck on several occasions.

It was a usually warm day for February and the snow and ice along the trail had begun to melt causing impromptu rivers of deep flowing water. In one instance, one of the vehicles was so mired in the deep slush that it required using a tow rope to extract it. The travel was slow and treacherous with vehicles helping each other along the way.
Arriving at the Ice Caves
When we finally made it to the Katla Ice cave, the adventure continued as we had to trek through the same slushy and slippery conditions. It was approximately a one-mile hike from where the trucks parked to the base camp where you began your ascent onto the glacier. One critique of this operation was that the crampons were provided at the base camp, but the hike to the base camp would have been easier and safer if the crampons were provided when you exited the vehicles. Several people in our party fell during the hike to base camp.

Once we arrived at basecamp, crampons were distributed but there was no where to sit and put on your crampons. Again, the more elderly in the group had problems and required assistance which the tour guides did NOT provide. Others in the party pitched in to help those less limber. At this point, there were 3-4 members of our group of 30 that decided not to go any further. They stayed at base camp while the tour group continued on.
Ascent to the Glacier
From base camp, there was an approximate 800’ ascent along a serpentine foot trail with an improvised rope rail. Again, the trail was slippery and slushy with slight missteps resulting in plunging through the snow pack up to your knees or waist in the snow. Again, the guides provided little help, leaving the group members to assist each other.
Exploring the Ice Caves
Aside from all that occurred beforehand, the Ice Caves were spectacular. The landscapes are truly jaw-dropping. The sights are otherworldly – like nothing you’ve ever seen before. In places where the ice is exposed, the layers of blue ice and volcanic ash make a striking visual. In other places, the wind has scalloped the ice walls into amazing sculptures.


Some of the caves themselves were pitch black and we relied on our cell phones to light the way. Portions of the cave also had flowing water, so high waterproof boots are a necessity. At times the caves narrowed, and our helmets often found the ceiling.

Conclusion
Well worth the trip and the experience of a lifetime.


In hindsight, my observation was that organized tours in Iceland are not organized to same level of proficiency or standards you would expect in the US. Participants are generally left to their own devices and tour guides are there simply to point the way. The infrastructure along the routes are far inferior to anything that would be considered minimally acceptable in the states. One example was where there were small crevasses of flowing water, the guides had improvised a single 2 x 4 wood planks to get across. Wholly insufficient and quite frankly terrifying.