geysers

Spectacular, awe-inspiring, amazing. Just a few of the superlatives that are given to Iceland and its magical landscapes.

This relatively small volcanic island close to the Arctic is packed with snow-capped mountains, glaciers, waterfalls, spurting geysers and a fantastic coastline scattered with glacial chunks and black sand.

I was lucky enough to visit some of these wonders on a tour of the country’s south in May and was even treated to a blanket of snow. If you enjoy landscape photography, Iceland is up there with the best of them.

But a note of caution. It’s now a popular destination and is organised to cope with many visitors. Some attractions are very busy and you may have to go further to experience real wilderness. Even so it’s hard to deny this country’s awesomeness.

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Distant Chile is the longest nation on Earth, snaking its way down the side of South America. Its geography is monumentally diverse, starting in the north with the Atacama Desert.

This is the most otherworldly and magical place on Earth that I’ve visited. Between the barren, mesmerising landscape there are vast salt pans inhabited by flamingos, geysers which only bubble into life before sunrise, and Martian sunsets cloaking lunar terrain. A photographic spectacle.

Visitors are looked after well in this at times inhospitable place – you can even have drinks to witness the sunset and a hot breakfast rustled out of nowhere to see off the freezing dawn.

It may be a long journey to Chile, but the rewards are there.