Self Driving Iceland’s Golden Circle
The Golden Circle is one of Iceland’s major tourist attractions. It can be done in one day from Reykjavik. Many tourists join a guided tour, but this is not necessary as the roads are in excellent condition and it is very difficult to get lost.
Overview of the Golden Circle destinations:
1. Thingvellir National Park
2. Lake Þingvallavatn
3. The Great Geysir and Stokkur
4. Gulfoss Waterfall
5. Skálholt Medieval Church — Skálholt Cathedral — Skálholtskirkja
6. Kerid Crater (Kerið)
7. Nesjavellir Geothermal Power Station
8. Raufarhoelshellir Lava Tube
9. Fjoerbordid Restaurant
1. Thingvellir National Park
We started our one-day Golden Circle tour in the morning with a rental car and a full tank of gas. Our first destination was Þingvellir (Thingvellir) National Park.
This park is a UNESCO World Heritage site. and it is associated with the Althing, the ancient national parliament of Iceland, which was established here in 930AD. Because the Althing is back in existence today, it is considered the oldest surviving parliament in the world.
Þingvellir comes from an old Norse word meaning “assembly fields”.
Park your car in the parking lot near the interpretive center and walk to the overview where a beautiful view of the valley, the Flosagjá fault and the Öxará (Axe) river await you. If you like, hike down towards the church or drive to the church later.
The earth’s cracks Þingvellir National Park are silent witnesses of the continental drift between the North American and Eurasian plates. The tectonic plates keep moving and result in Iceland growing by 0.8in (2cm) per year. As a result of the movement, you may feel small earthquakes every now and then.
2. Lake Þingvallavatn
Get back to your car and head east towards Geysir. Very soon you will see beautiful lake Þingvallavatn.
Keep driving and turn on route 365 to Geysir and then routes 37 and 35. Sounds complicated? Don’t worry. There are good signs directing you tp where you need to go.
3. The Great Geysir and Stokkur
The Haukadalur geothermal area has Iceland’s most famous geyser: Strokkur (=”churn”), There are the Great Geysir and other geothermal features like mud pots, hot springs, and fumaroles.
The Haukadalur geothermal area is active for about 10,000 years, but hot springs were only reported after a series of earthquakes in 1294.
Sources mention the word Geysir first in the 18th century; its origin lies in the Old Norse verb “geysa” = “to gush”.
Nearby Stokkur is much more active and erupts every 5–10min while The Great Geysir rarely erupts anymore due to people messing with it.
Strokkur is much younger geyser which was created by an earthquake in 1789. Like Geysir, It is said that its eruptions in 1815 reached 200ft (60m), which is 3 times higher than its current eruption height.
4. Gulfoss Waterfall
Consider yourself lucky that you can see the waterfall in all its natural beauty today. Why am I saying that? In the early 20th century, there were plans to utilize Gulfoss electricity generation. Luckily, plans fell through and the waterfall was eventually sold to the government which turned it into a protected area.
The story that youm may hear about Sigríður Tómasdóttir, the daughter of Tómas Tómasson, is likely untrue.
In summer, the average amount of water going down the falls is approx. 4,900ft3 (140m3) per second. The volume in winter to approx. 2,800ft3 (80m3) per second.
There is an upper and a lower viewpoint. The views from the upper viewpoint are amazing, but you get closer and wetter at the lower viewpoint.
5. Skálholt Medieval Church — Skálholt Cathedral — Skálholtskirkja
From 1056 to 1785, Skálholt Cathedral was one of Iceland’s two episcopal sees (dioceses) and that made it an important center of religion, learning, culture and power. In 1075, Adam of Bremen called Skálholt as Iceland’s “largest city”.
The cathedral that you currently see was built from 1956–1963 as for the millennial celebrations of the episcopal see. It is actually the 10th church that was built here after its predecessors were destroyed.
6. Kerid Crater (Kerið)
Kerið Crater is likely a cone volcano which erupted and then collapsed into its empty magma reserve. The lake at the bottom is at the same level as the water table of the area and therefore not caused by rainfall, but groundwater.
The Crater is about 3,000 years old, which makes it only half the age of the other volcanic features in this area.
In case that you want to hike down to the lake, it can be done as one of the walls is less steep than the others. There is an admission to visit the crater.
7. Nesjavellir Geothermal Power Station
If you have time, you can consider a detour to the Nesjavellir Geothermal Power Station (NGPS) — the second-largest geothermal power station of Iceland.
Exploration details go back to 1947, but construction only started in 1987 and the power plant went online in September 1990. It produces approx. 120MW of electricity and approx. 290 gallons (1,100 liters) of hot water 82–85°C (180–185°F) per second which is pumped to the Reykjavik area.
8. Raufarhoelshellir Lava Tube
Raufarhólshellir is the 4th longest lava tube in Iceland. Sadly visitors had destroyed most the fragile lava straws and left lots of trash, so the cave was closed in 2016 and parts of 2017 to repair the damage and install a walkway and lighting. The cave is now open only for guided tours.
Raufarhólshellir formed approx. 5,600 years ago from a lava flow about 6 miles (10 km) uphill of the cave.
9. Fjoerbordid Restaurant
Since we were in the general area, we decided to end our perfect day with a dinner at the highly recommended Fjoerbordid Seafood Restaurant in the tiny village of Stokkseyri. First, however, we took a quick walk on the levee right next to the restaurant, to enjoy the beach and a gorgeous sunset.
After a wonderful dinner, we drove back to our hotel in the dark.
Originally published at https://backpackandsnorkel.com
