Icelandic Road Trip – The Golden Circle

· by · in Europe, Road-trip, West Iceland. ·

That day, we explored the Golden circle and our first stop was at Þingvellir National Park.  The park contains the largest natural lake of Iceland, Þingvallavatn and the well-known Almannagja Fissure, the boundary of the North-America Tectonic Plate.

We also stopped at Oxararfoss Waterfall. The base of the waterfall is filled with rocks and that was quite pleasant to look at. Then we had a look at Hrafnagja Fissure and a few others close by before stopping by the church. The rain was a lot harder, so we decided to go back to the car park.

After that, we headed towards Haukadalur Valley, a geothermal area where are located various geothermal features such as mud pools, fumaroles, algal deposits and of course, geysers !!! That was really busy and of course, it was raining so much ! It was interesting to know that the English word “geyser” is derived from the Icelandic word “geysir” which means gusher. Geysir is more or less dormant geyser and the attraction of the area is now Strokkur which erupts at regular intervals every 10 minutes or so. Its white column of boiling water can reach as high as 30 meters. When we arrived near the hot springs, it was raining so much that my camera was completely soaked.. (as you can see in the only picture I took it’s full of water drop everywhere). So I wasn’t able to take any good pictures, sorry guys ! :-(

Gullfoss waterfall was one of our last stops before going to the guesthouse. A very slippery trail descended to the gorge carved out by the falls and lead to brinks of both the lower and upper tiers of Gullfoss. It was nice to see the power of a non-frozen Gullfoss ;-) I would have been nice with a bit of sunshine !

After the waterfall, continue on 35, pass in front of Reykholt Village, the largest area of green houses in Iceland, had  a burger then went to the guesthouse.

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59 responses to “Icelandic Road Trip – The Golden Circle”

  5. I think your photos are spectacular Gin even with the hindrance of the rain! I am so impressed with the scenery and the wild and wonderful waterfalls and geysers it is so beautiful despite the weather! Would you mind if I shared the link to your post on my Le Chic En Rose facebook page? I think people would be really interested (the page is for people who want to follow my posts but don’t have a WordPress account). I like to highlight blogs that I think are worth reading on there as well as my own blog posts!! :) No problem if not! Have a great week too and look forward to the next instalment of your Icelandic travels I really enjoy reading them! :)

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    • I don’t mind at all, please, feel free to share it, you don’t have to ask for permission :-) Raw nature is always beautiful, and sometimes, even more spectacular with a dramatic background. But with a blue sky, it would be definitively be even more gorgeous I bet ! This trip is slowly coming to an end, and I think I have 1 or 2 posts left about this wonderful trip :-)

      Liked by 1 person

      • Thanks Gin! :) I’ve loved all your Icelandic posts and will head over now to read your latest one (have had a busy few days and need to catch up with my blog reading!). I’ll post a link to your latest post on the Le Chic En Rose fb page – I wasn’t sure what the etiquette was being quite new to blogging and thought it best to ask first! I will miss my weekly updates on Iceland! It certainly looks a wonderful trip! :)

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  8. How beautiful and interesting to see those place in such a bad weather. Brrrr…. We did the Golden circle in the other direction and started with Gullfoss. My absolutely highlight was Þingvellir. I’ll never forget this view over the landscape, the width was incredible. Have a happy day! :)

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    • haha, is this sarcastic ? :D I would have preferred to see it under a bright sun to be honest, we were so drenched :D

      We were coming from the North West, so it was easier for us to start with Þingvellir, and we avoided the crowds since most of the tours are doing the other way :-)

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  9. You capture water really beautifully: Iceland is looking very fresh! I especially love the serenity that Iceland’s natural features exude. I just wish I could pronounce some of these Icelandic names!

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  10. Sounds like a lot very impressive natural wonders all in one day:)
    The waterfall looks so impressive – so much larger than the others you teased us with. Even though the weather did not cooperate, it did keep you moving. How else could you have squeezed in so many fabulous places in one day?

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    • Yes, the waterfall is amazingly powerful. Even from a distance, you can get really wet ! All the attractions are not too far away from each other, especially the geyser and the waterfall, even if you do it peacefully and if you take a cup of coffee at each place :-)

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    • In the past, drowning was used as a method of execution. In Thingvellir, people were drowned in this waterfall actually. Some reports mentioned women tied up in a sack, pushed out into the pool and held under the waterfall. It’s a beautiful place but full of horrible memories.

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  19. Gulfoss looks very powerful, and the sepultures with natural stones are also very powerful, I’d like to have one like that in the mine (several years in the future I hope :D)
    Beautiful photographs from a place that seems ripped from a mythological world.

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    • You can’t really do anything than to try to enjoy it, despite the rain :-) But after a few days of bad weather, you start to feel a bit depressed because you have the feeling that you are missing out some beautiful sights.

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