As the capital city of Iceland, Reykjavik is believed to have been the countrys first permanent settlement. Established in AD 874 by IngÌ_lfr Arnarson it is now home to around 123,000 residents; it attracts around 2 million overseas visitors every year.
The weather in Reykjavik is known for its extremes of day and night. In the summer months (May to July) there is almost permanent daylight, whereas in winter time (December toJanuary) there is less than 5 hours of light sky. Despite being part of the Arctic Circle, temperatures usually only drop to slightly below freezing in winter time; it usually gets no colder than minus 2 degree Celsius. Things warm up a bit in the spring and summer months, but usually no higher than the early teens.
Reykjavik has some of the worlds best known tourist attractions. The most iconic of these are without doubt the Northern Lights; a natural light display in the sky known as an Aurora. Although the Northern Lights are one of the main drivers for tourists to visit Iceland, their presence is notoriously difficult to predict, however they are most likely to be spotted between 9.30pm and 1am when the sky is completely dark.
Although Iceland is well-known for its naturally-occurring thermal springs, the most visited is the Blue lagoon which is technically man-made. Founded in 1992, it is known as one of the worlds leading spa resorts that promotes the benefits of geothermal sea water that was discovered in the 80s by locals living near the Svartsengi geothermal power plant (which remains the source of the lagoon waters to this day). The milky-blue colour of the water is thanks to its high silica content, which also forms a mud on the bottom of the lake that bathers like to rub on their skin to enjoy as a clay mask.
