Climbing Iceland's highest peak on the rim of the Oræfajökull volcano.

The Hveragerði fissure runs through this unassuming shopping center.

This abandoned, partly demolished building is now home to beautiful graffiti and murals.

A replica of the decorated wooden pillars Viking sailors threw overboard when finding new places to establish a settlement.

The final resting place of the controversial chess champion.

Iceland's "Smoky Valley" is a beautiful river that is shrouded in a constant cover of steam clouds.

Twisted girders are all that remain of an Icelandic bridge that was wiped out by a combination of volcanic heat and glacial floods.

The unique waterfall in Iceland's south features a backdrop of geometric black lava columns.

A real-life homage to the Rachel McAdams and Will Ferrell's fictional Eurovision musical duo.

Strange rock formations tower above the river that snakes through this enchanting Icelandic canyon.

What was once believed to be a church floor turned out to be the artwork of geology.

The oldest hall in Iceland was written of in the Sagas and features a centuries-old escape tunnel.

This eye-popping Icelandic crater lake is surrounded by red volcanic rock.

This tumultuous Icelandic lava field looks so alien European researchers want to use it as a stand-in for Mars.

This excellent museum recreates the boom days of the herring rush in the "Atlantic Klondike."

Two whaling vessels that were sunk by an anti-whaling organization in 1986 now sit on the shore of this beautiful fjord.

The picturesque birthplace of Icelandic democracy is drenched in the blood of its brutal past.

This beautiful, historic church looks like something out of a simpler past.

This natural Icelandic fissure allows divers to swim right between two volatile tectonic plates.

In Northeastern Iceland lies something of an oxymoron: a steaming desert.

This educational and eco-friendly community is Iceland's "home of the sun."

A sulfuric martian landscape that looks far better than it smells.

This volcanic cave lake is essentially hard proof that Iceland is the most magical place on Earth.

These ominous lava formations were said to be an entrance to the netherworld so of course they inspired a famous metal band.