ICELAND THEN AND NOW: THE LOCATIONS FROM ICELAND IN THE NORTH REVISITED IN 2025
- Roman Pech
- před 4 dny
- Minut čtení: 4
When I first arrived in Iceland, it felt like the end of the world.
In many places, I stood completely alone. Just the wind, a waterfall, a glacier, or a black sand beach. No tour buses, no queues for photographs, no crowds of tourists. Most of the footage that would later become the documentary Island in the North was filmed between 2008 and 2015.
When I look at those images today, I see more than landscapes. I see an Iceland that has almost disappeared. Not because the waterfalls or volcanoes are gone. The silence is gone.
The Same Places, a Different World
For this comparison, I returned to six locations featured in the film.
At first glance, the landscape itself has hardly changed. Waterfalls still plunge from cliffs, glaciers still descend from mountains, and the ocean still crashes against black sand beaches.
Something else has changed.
Footage from 2008, 2011, or 2015 often shows vast, empty landscapes. Sometimes there is not a single person in the frame.
At the same locations in 2025, parking lots are full of cars, viewing platforms are crowded with visitors, and photographers wait patiently for a brief moment when no tourists appear in their shots.
Iceland Was Discovered by the World
Following the financial crisis of 2008, Iceland began to invest heavily in tourism.
While fewer than half a million visitors arrived annually around 2010, the country now welcomes more than two million visitors every year. That amounts to roughly five tourists annually for every resident of Iceland.
Places once known mainly to photographers, travelers, and nature enthusiasts have become global social media icons.
Photography Has Changed
Years ago, the greatest challenge was reaching the right place at the right time.
Today, the greatest challenge is waiting for people to leave the frame.
Many Icelandic sites now feature new pathways, railings, viewing platforms, and parking areas. The reasons are understandable. The growing number of visitors requires both infrastructure and protection for fragile natural environments.
But something has been lost in the process.
A sense of discovery.
Some locations now feel more like outdoor attractions than untamed wilderness.
It Is Not Just Iceland
A similar transformation is taking place in natural destinations around the world.
Within just a few years, social media has turned once-obscure locations into major tourist attractions. Experts and local communities increasingly discuss the challenge of overtourism — the overloading of popular destinations beyond their sustainable capacity.
Read more about Iceland and Total Solar Eclipse 2026 HERE
In Some Places, Even the Landscape Has Changed
At most of the locations in this comparison, the most visible change is the number of visitors. However, there is at least one place where nature itself has changed dramatically.
Comparison photographs of Snæfellsjökull from 2008 and 2025 reveal a significant loss of ice. In the older images, the glacier covers much more of the summit and appears considerably more substantial. Today, its ice cap is visibly smaller.
This is not merely a subjective impression from photographs.
Long-term measurements by Icelandic glaciologists show that Snæfellsjökull has been retreating rapidly in recent decades. Between 1999 and 2008 alone, the glacier surface declined by an average of approximately 13 meters. Scientists confirm that the retreat has continued ever since.
Snæfellsjökull is among the Icelandic glaciers most visibly affected by climate change.
That is precisely why comparisons like these are valuable. They reveal not only the transformation of tourism but also the transformation of a landscape that has symbolized Iceland for centuries.
When I compare my footage from 2008 to 2025, I see two stories.
In some places, there are more people.
In others, there is less ice.
Both are reminders of how quickly Iceland is changing.
Sources
Icelandic Meteorological Office (Veðurstofa Íslands): Long-term monitoring of Icelandic glaciers, including Snæfellsjökull. Reports document an average surface lowering of approximately 13 meters between 1999 and 2008 and confirm continued retreat in subsequent years.
Iceland Review: Statistics on international arrivals through Keflavík Airport. Approximately 2.25 million international arrivals were recorded in 2025.
Reuters: Analyses of tourism development in Arctic regions, noting Iceland's rapid tourism growth following the 2008 financial crisis, with visitor numbers increasing from fewer than 500,000 annually to more than 2 million.
Statistics Iceland (Hagstofa Íslands): Official statistics on tourism, transportation, and visitor numbers in Iceland.
About the Author
Iceland has fascinated me for many years. Over the course of numerous journeys across the island, I have driven tens of thousands of kilometers, experienced storms that changed travel plans within minutes, and witnessed days when choosing the right route meant discovering places that most visitors never see. I documented many of these experiences in my documentary film Island in the North.
Through this website, I share practical travel advice, up-to-date information, and firsthand experiences from the field to help others explore Iceland more safely and gain a deeper understanding of its unique landscapes and ever-changing nature.
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