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 Lindblad Expeditions-National Geographic puts you up close with wide-open wilderness, far-flung islands, and tiny, seaside villages.

These vibrant images, captured this summer 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.