Wander Iceland | The Golden Circle

The golden circle

Þingvellir

(Fun Fact: the “Þ” in Icelandic makes a soft “th” as in “thing, three, thatch”. The “ð” makes a hard “th” as in “the, that, they”. The more you know!) Þingvellir is one of the most historical spots in Iceland because it was the sight of the first parliament clear back in the 900s AD. Lots of cool shiz went down here that you can read up on if history is your thing. In addition to it's historical value, Þingvellir is also geographically interesting. It's home to the continental divide between North America and Europe (you can be intercontinental, oh yeah!), and the crystal clear waters of the Silfra Canyon (where you can snorkel year round!). Walk around a bit, enjoy the fairy pools, and see if you can see where they filmed parts of Game of Thrones.

So, it's not that we hate The Golden Circle, it's more that it breaks our hearts when people see ONLY The Golden Circle when they visit Iceland. If you come to Iceland and only go to Reykjavik, The Blue Lagoon, and The Golden Circle, you're doing Iceland wrong. It's best seen as a day trip if you happen to have extra time, but by no means should you ever cut something else out in favor of doing The Golden Circle. That being said, the main three sights—Þingvellir, Geysir, and Gullfoss—are pleasant stops even if you have to share them with 10,000 tourists.

Geysir

There are only two words in English with Icelandic origins. The first is saga (Icelandic for story), and the second is geysir (geyser). Yep, you get to meet THE original Geysir. Except that it's actually Strokkur that steals the show here because it's the only geyser in this area that actually erupts at normal (5-10 minute) intervals. If you see Geysir erupt, buy yourself a lottery ticket STAT because that only happens every few years (if at all)!

Gullfoss

It's big! It's famous! It's the "golden falls"!

Kerið

If you've seen the “big 3” of The Golden Circle and still have time left in the day, you might as well drop by the colorful crater Kerið. Be warned: someone may or may not make you pay a small fee to see it. That may or may not be worth it to you.

The Town of Hveragerði

Geothermal greenhouses? Geothermal rivers? A whole small town of all sorts of geothermal goodness! The only problem is we actually haven't personally taken advantage of said famous geothermal river (formally called Sandhólshver), so we can't give you any information other than we know tourists go there when they do The Golden Circle (we're too busy seeing other things).

Hellisheiði Geothermal Plant

Ok, this is actually a little interesting (especially if you're into environmental friendliness). It's the largest geothermal plant in the whole world... and kind of looks like a futuristic space station. (Fun Fact: Essentially all of Iceland's energy is geothermal or hydroelectric, so heating and powering one's house is one of the only cheap things about living here.)