We were headed to the Golden Circle today. The distance was short compared to what we covered yesterday and what we planned to cover in the next couple of days. We had a relaxed start with our morning coffee and then headed out.
We drove northeast from Reykjavík towards Þingvellir (Thingvellir) National Park, and our first stop was the Þingvallavatn panorama point. It had a great view of Þingvallavatn—the largest natural lake in Iceland—and the surrounding areas.
We reached the parking lot close to the main Þingvellir Parking P1 and then purchased a day pass at one of the kiosks. We headed inside the Þingvellir National Park Visitor Center, and the person there told us about the trail we could follow to see most of the places around.
We spent some time around the Hakið útsýnispallur (observation deck) to take in the views of the rift valley, Þingvallavatn lake, and the hills around.
We then took the wooden walkway into the Almannagjá fault, which marked the boundary between the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates.
We walked towards Þingvellir Parking P2 and then made a short climb towards Öxarárfoss. It was quite cool around, and the cold water rushing down the basalt rocks made everything seem even fresher.
We walked back down and then across the valley to see the Peningagjá fissure. From there, we headed to see Þingvallakirkja and the Summer Residence of the Icelandic Prime Minister.
We walked across a bridge where the Öxará river flows into Þingvallavatn. We were able to see brown trout in the clear waters. We climbed back up as we followed the trail and closed the loop, reaching the visitor center again.
It was nice to be indoors and warm after walking around for a while. We decided to have a quick lunch here before continuing with our day and picked up a couple of sandwiches.
After that, we headed to our next stop on the Golden Circle: the Haukadalur valley, famous for its geothermal activity. We parked the car and crossed the road but didn’t head in the right direction at first. Eventually, we walked to see Litli-Geysir and Strokkur. It was amazing to see water boiling in the ground at Litli-Geysir and the eruption from Strokkur spewing steam into the sky.
From there, we headed to see Gullfoss. It was gray and rainy by the time we got there. We parked at the top lookout and then headed down to walk the trail and get really close to the water. It was amazing to see and hear the force with which the water was flowing down the canyon.
The rain really started coming down, and we decided to head back. We stopped at TASTY - RVK for dinner before going back to the hotel so we wouldn’t have to get out in the cold, wet weather again. The place was nice, with lots of local patrons; I think we were the only tourists there. It was nice to try out some local Icelandic burgers. After that, we drove back to our hotel and called it a night.
🚘 Zero Car
🍽️ Thingvellir National Park Visitor Center
🍽️ TASTY - RVK
🛏️ Hilton Reykjavik Nordica