The largest glacier in Iceland, covering 8% of the country's territory. It is located in the south-east of the island and has an area of 8,100 km². It is the largest ice cap in Europe by volume (3,100 km³) and as most of the glaciers in Iceland, it has volcanoes under the ice cap. In the glacier's cave, tourists can also admire hot springs.

According to Guinness World Records, Vatnajökull is the object of the world's longest sight line. The glacier can sometimes bee seen from the highest mountain on the Faroe Islands, 550 kilometers (340 miles) away.