Vatnajokull

At 14,141 km², Vatnajökull is the largest national park in Europe and covers close to 14% of Iceland's surface. It was created in 2008 by merging the former Skaftafell and Jökulsárgljúfur parks, and was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2019. It is named after the ice cap itself, the largest in Europe by volume, which sits over an active volcanic system — the Icelandic play of fire and ice — including the feared Grímsvötn. The park combines caves of crystalline blue ice, the glacial lagoon of Jökulsárlón with its drifting icebergs, and the huge waterfalls of Dettifoss and Svartifoss, the latter ringed by basalt columns that inspired the design of the Reykjavík opera house.