KEFLAVÍK, Iceland (AFP) — A total solar eclipse plunged western Iceland into complete darkness Wednesday, though heavy cloud cover and rain blocked the sight of the sun disappearing behind the moon.

Total darkness swept over Keflavik, some 50 kilometres (30 miles) southwest of the capital Reykjavik, at 5:47 pm (1747 GMT).

It was the first time the rare phenomenon was visible in Iceland’s capital Reykjavik since 1433, and attracted thousands of tourists and locals across the country.

“I was actually having chills in my body,” Glenn Rosa, a 44-year-old retail manager from Houston, Texas, told AFP just minutes after the darkness passed over Keflavik and its lighthouse.

“I think a tear or two came out of me, because I’ve never seen this, and it was an amazing experience,” he said.

Mylisha Lanegan, a 34-year-old teacher from Washington state in the United States, was also enthralled, calling the experience “almost indescribable”.

“I was looking out onto the lighthouse there, and you could just see it, it was like a shining beacon in the darkness around it.”

Iceland is known for its rugged nature, with active volcanoes, lava fields, glaciers, waterfalls and thermal spas, as well as Northern Lights occasionally lighting up the night sky.

“Being here in Iceland with the landscape, it just feels almost like you’re on another world with it going dark so quick and then instantly lighting up,” Lanegan said.

Icelandic astronomer and popular scientist Saevar Helgi Bragason was among the most eager spectators.

He said he had been “waiting for this day for more than 10 years”, after a partial solar eclipse over Iceland on March 20, 2015.

Speaking to AFP just before the event, he said he was filled with “excitement and heartbreak” because of the unfavourable weather forecast which predicted that clouds would obscure the view of the moon blocking out the sun.

“It’s almost like I’ve lost someone.”

The total eclipse over Iceland lasted longest over the cliffs of Latrabjarg in the westernmost part of the country — about 2 minutes and 13 seconds. Further south in Reykjavik it lasted for just over one minute.

Hotels across Iceland were fully booked, with one hotel in the western village of Breidavik having received its first booking for the event 14 years ago, according to national broadcaster RUV.

“We’re used to nature putting on a show here,” Business Iceland official Sigridur Dogg Gudmundsdottir told AFP, adding there had been “strong interest among visitors for the eclipse”.

A total of around 75,000 foreign tourists were estimated to be in Iceland on Wednesday, she said — only slightly higher than normal during the peak tourism month of August as infrastructure in the country of 400,000 people was at maximum capacity.

More than 30 cruise ships were docked off the coast, carrying 53,000 passengers.

All helicopter flights were also fully booked and there were more private jets than usual parked at Reykjavik airport, RUV said.

According to data analysis group Lighthouse Intelligence, Reykjavik — known as a pricey city for international travellers — was the most expensive destination worldwide to view the eclipse. Hotel rooms average $1,012 per night — roughly double 2025 rates and 212 percent above the city’s 2026 average.

There have been 12 total solar eclipses since Iceland was settled around the year 870, with the next one not due until 2196, astronomer Bragason said.

Between 2026 and the year 3000, Iceland will only experience eight more total eclipses, he added.