The world’s largest man-made ice tunnel was in
recent times dug out on the western slopes in Iceland Langjokull. This is one
of the biggest glaciers in Iceland, and the tunnel and cave system spreads
mover than 550 meters into solid glacier ice at around 30 meters below the
surface making it the largest man made ice structure in the world. This distinctive
project, supported by the Icelandair Group and leading pension funds, will allow
tourists to have a unique opportunity to see how snow is slowly compressed to
become glacier ice.
Well, Aptly named “Into the Glacier”, the
experience is the brainchild of two Icelandic adventure tour operators – “Baldvin
Einarsson” and “Hallgrímur Örn Arngrímsson”, who wanted to take tourists into
the heart of the amazing glacier ice cap, to grasp the magnificent “blue ice”
which is buried deep beneath the surface. Work on the cave started in 2010, and
completed early in the year of 2015. However, it was official opened for
visitors on 1st June 2015. Though it’s meant mainly to be a tourist attraction,
the tunnel will also be used by researchers and students at the University of
Iceland to measure ice movements over time.
Therefore, to the journey to the ice tunnel
starts off with an impressive trip in 8-wheel monster trucks to the entrance of
the cave, which is placed 1,200 meters above sea level. From there tourists are
taken on foot on an hour-long tour exploring the tunnel where they’ll see
crevasses, moulins, running water, ice layers and space between them, diverse
types of snow and ice, and how the glacier evolves. Moreover, the led lighted
walls inside the tunnels are sheer-carved and hollowed out at numerous
intervals along the tunnel to house educational exhibitions and deliver
information on the science of glaciers and the effects of global warming. There’s
even a small chapel where couples can get married. The tourist attraction is
expected to stay open all throughout the year.
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