Golden Circle

Why Golden Circle works

The Golden Circle links three of Iceland's most striking natural sites along a roughly 300km loop from Reykjavik. Thingvellir National Park sits directly atop the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, where the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates are visibly pulling apart at around 2cm per year, creating a dramatic rift valley of fissures and cliffs; it was also the site of Iceland's original parliament, the Althing, founded in 930 AD and considered one of the world's oldest surviving legislative assemblies. Continuing east, the Geysir geothermal area gave the English language its word for geyser — while the original Great Geysir now erupts only rarely, its energetic neighbour Strokkur reliably blasts boiling water 15-20m into the air every 5-10 minutes, drawing crowds who wait, phones raised, around its bubbling turquoise pool. The route's final stop, Gullfoss ('Golden Falls'), sends the glacial Hvita river crashing over a two-tiered drop into a rugged canyon, throwing up spray that catches rainbows on sunny days; a preservation campaign led by local farmer's daughter Sigridur Tomasdottir in the early 20th century prevented the falls from being dammed for hydroelectric power. The full loop is easily driven in a day, though winter conditions demand caution, and many visitors extend the trip with detours to crater lakes, geothermal greenhouses or horseback riding on native Icelandic horses.

Trip Snapshot

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