🌍 World Tour 5 min read 10+ locales
Iceland grows bananas with volcanic heat and glass domes
Geothermal water warms greenhouses in Hveragerði, letting farmers pick 5 tons of bananas a year only 150 miles from the Arctic Circle.
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Hveragerði, a town resting on steaming ground fissures, pipes 80 °C water straight from boreholes into snaking greenhouse radiators. The warmth keeps glass domes at tropical humidity while LED panels mimic the equatorial sun.
Because energy is nearly free, farmers experiment with cacao, papaya, and rows of banana plants that would usually wilt in sub-zero wind. Visitors can tour the domes, taste banana bread baked with geothermal steam, and soak in nearby hot rivers the same afternoon.
Travel tips:
- Reach Hveragerði by bus 51 from Reykjavík in 45 minutes.
- Buy a greenhouse tour ticket at the visitor center; it includes samples and a thermal bakery stop.
- If you visit in winter, linger until dusk to watch auroras shimmer through the glass canopy.
