There is no better way to experience authentic Iceland—far from the well-trodden Ring Road—then aboard a small-ship expedition that ventures to the country’s far corners. A voyage with National Geographic-Lindblad Expeditions puts you up close with wide-open wilderness, far-flung islands and tiny, seaside villages.

These vibrant images, captured by staff photographer David Vargas, offer a revealing look at the less-traveled side of Iceland where waterfalls thunder, puffins flock and glaciers tumble from mountaintops.