Apart from wildlife, the main attractions of Nordaustlandet are the icecaps, Austfonna and Vestfonna – in the east and northwest respectively. Austfonna is the most visited, and the seventh largest in the world.Nordaustlandet is the second largest island in the Svalbard archipelago, the name translates to North East Land. As suggested by the name, the island lies northeast of Spitsbergen, separated by the Hinlopen Strait. Completely uninhabited, the island is largely made up of sizable icecaps and tundra and lies entirely within the Nordaust-Svalbard Nature Reserve.
With a thickness of up to 560 metres, you can take a zodiac ride along the face of the icecap, an enormous glacial face that stretches for miles. The glacial meltwater waterfalls are stunning to behold, thundering over sharp edges into the sea below, creating rivers through the ice on the way. The sheer scale of the icebergs which calve from the glacier are mesmerising in themselves.
