Iceland - The Golden Circle

Our first stop for today tour is at Þingvellir (Thingvellir), one of Iceland National Parks which was established in 1928.



Lake Thingvallavatn, the largest natural lake of the country with an area of 83,7 kmฒ. Its greatest depth is 114 m, and this lowest point lies 13 m below sea level.

The rift apart - The continental movement between the Eurosian plate and the North American plate caused two severe earthquakes in South Iceland in the summer of 2000. The split run through Iceland. In the south, the plates inch past each other, but at Þingvellir, they break apart and the land between subsides.

Thingvellir- The Parliamentary Plains are the most important historic site of the country. The Althing – an open-air assembly, which represented the whole of Iceland – was established in 930 and continued to meet until 1798. Over two weeks a year, the assembly set laws – seen as a covenant between free men – and settled disputes. The Althing has deep historical and symbolic associations for the people of Iceland.

It was officially added to UNESCO's World Heritage List in August 2004. The distance from the capital is 49 km.

Our “Northface” dress code for the trip. We bought them from the Mongolia trip. Since three of us wear the same style and color, it looks like a school uniform, though our ages are over any student age range.

Our next stop is having lunch near the Geyser area it is a geothermal field where hot springs are in abundance, geysers explode and pools of mud bubble.

There is only one Icelandic word used in the English language: geyser. Though the word refers to all geysers in general, it comes from a single geyser (in fact, the geyser) located in the South West of Iceland. Far more reliable, though less spectacular, is nearby Strokkur (“the churn”), which spouts a 60-100 foot jet about once every five minutes.

Next is the Gullfoss which is claimed to be as beautiful as the Niagara Fall.

Gullfoss is a beautiful double-folding fall that many believe to be the most scenic in Iceland. It thunders 32m over a fault into a gorge, which measures 2.5km in length and up to 70m deep in places.

A statue of the farmer’s daughter.

At one time the government planned to supplant the falls with a large hydroelectric powerplant, but a nearby farmer’s daughter underwent a pilgrimage on foot to Reykjavik, where she demanded that unless the plant was stopped, she would cast herself over the falls. After the nation overwhelmingly came out in her favor, plans were halted and the government purchased the land for a national park.


View around the Selfoss Hotel.

Tonight we stay at Hotel Selfoss where we have a delicious dinner. The best of my trip in Iceland.