Iceland
Askja
A milky-blue volcanic crater lake inside a desolate moonscape used for NASA training.
The landscape has no colour. Ash grey, pumice white, basalt black — the Askja caldera in Iceland's central highlands is a monochrome desert so alien that NASA sent Apollo astronauts here to practise walking on the moon. Then you reach the crater rim and look down at water the colour of powdered milk.
Askja is a nested caldera system in the Dyngjufjöll mountains, formed by a catastrophic eruption in 1875 that sent ash across Scandinavia and triggered a wave of Icelandic emigration to North America. Within the main caldera sits Víti, a 150-metre-wide explosion crater filled with milky geothermal water warm enough for swimming — an experience that involves descending a steep, unstable slope into a volcanic pit. The surrounding Ódáðahraun lava desert is Iceland's largest, stretching over 4,000 square kilometres of virtually lifeless terrain. NASA chose Askja in 1965 and 1967 to prepare Apollo astronauts for lunar conditions because of the basaltic terrain's similarity to the moon's surface. Access requires a high-clearance 4x4 and a full-day drive on highland tracks open only in July and August.
Friends
The full-day 4x4 expedition, the lunar landscape, and swimming in a volcanic crater together — Askja is the kind of experience that defines a trip.
Solo
Standing alone in a landscape where NASA trained moonwalkers puts everyday life in perspective. The remoteness and silence are total.
- NASA trained Apollo astronauts here in 1965 because the terrain closely mimics the lunar surface.
- The Víti crater lake is warm enough to swim in despite sitting inside a volcano.
- Accessible only via a 4x4 highland track, creating a genuine expedition atmosphere.
- The caldera formed during a catastrophic eruption in 1875 that triggered mass emigration to Canada.
Highland-style dried stockfish (Hardfiskur) with thick, salted Icelandic butter.
Canned lava-smoked sardines eaten on the rim of the steaming Víti crater.
Queenstown
New Zealand
The town where bungee jumping was born, cradled between a glacial lake and jagged peaks.
Sete Cidades
Portugal
Twin crater lakes, one emerald, one sapphire, fill a volcanic caldera wreathed in Azorean mist.
Silverton
United States
A narrow-gauge steam train delivers you to a mining ghost town at 9,318 feet.
Vale do Paúl
Cape Verde
Sugarcane terraces spill down a volcanic crater into the greenest valley in the archipelago.
Heimaey
Iceland
An island where houses remain half-buried in volcanic ash beside millions of nesting puffins.
Seyðisfjörður
Iceland
A rainbow-paved path leading to a pale blue church beneath snow-streaked fjord walls.
Húsavík
Iceland
Wooden sailing ships chasing the exhales of blue whales in a sapphire northern bay.
Stuðlagil Canyon
Iceland
A turquoise glacial river surging through geometric towers of perfectly hexagonal basalt.