This Golden Circle Tour started at our hotel, getting picked up at 9:15 Ish. We had pretty good weather when we first came outside. There were breaks in the cloud, the visibility was excellent, and we could see for miles.
We started by heading north out of Reykjavik. The scenes and views of the snow-capped mountains were quite mesmerising. I’m a mountain lover, so seeing this was amazing for me. It also made me a little jealous of people who live near these. I’d have loved to climb them, but I didn’t have my gear, nor did I have the time to go off and climb mountains this holiday.
Driving along the long, empty roads, surrounded by snowy mountains, felt surreal. I usually am not a fan of long drives. There was something about this one with the scenes that I enjoyed. Our guide was also giving loads of interesting information. I didn’t know that there were so many daily earthquakes here. Well, primarily tremors, and you won’t feel many of them.
There is also a considerable lack of trees. They were all chopped down by the Vikings. The island went from 40ish% to 1% off tree coverage. Reforestation has restarted, however.
Almannagjá, Iceland
They were coming to our first stop. Almannagjá is the boundary of the mid-Atlantic rift. The views were lovely over the large Þingvallavatn lagoon with the snow-covered mountains on the other side. I saw an interesting thing in the toilets; there are huge glass windows to see over the mountains on the other side. We then walked down the path to the bottom carpark where is bus was located.
We then stopped off at an old Viking baptism pool from a large lake. It was odd that the small 1m Ish wide pond was warm. My first experience with geothermal water. The guide then took us to the edge of the lagoon. The water was not hot, but not freezing. And displacing some of the sand, the ground was warm also.
Now the clouds seem to be dropping a little bit. Our visibility is okay for now. Hopefully, it doesn’t get much worse.
Facts about Almannagjá, Iceland.
Almannagjá marks the boundary of the Mid-Atlantic Rift, which runs through Iceland. This rift is the space between the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates.
Almannagjá gorge has witnessed a great deal of Icelandic history. This is because Þingvellir is the original site of the world’s longest-running, ongoing parliament, the Alþing.
For more on Almannagjá, please visit guidetoiceland.is
Haukadalur Valley, Iceland
Our next stop was Haukadalur Valley, Iceland, to see some Geysers and hot springs. This was an odd place to see because it is where the Geysers are on this tour. The ground was leaking steam while we were heading to the famous Strokkur Geyser. I didn’t mind if I saw the Geyser erupt, but it did so every 8-10 minutes. We saw Strokkur Geyser explode twice up close, three times from further away. It was pretty cool to see it happen, and I am glad I did. However, the sulphur smell was so strong, which wasn’t pleasant for my nose.
We then walked over to the gift shop and café. I had a good spicy chicken sandwich and a piece of carrot cake. This café and gift shop seemed cheaper than most in Iceland. If you are coming here on your holiday, wait till you’re here to buy gifts.
Facts about Strokkur Geyser, Iceland
Strokkur was first mentioned in 1789 after an earthquake helped unblock the geyser’s conduit. It continued to erupt until the turn of the 20th century when another earthquake blocked the conduit again. In 1963, upon the advice of the Geysir Committee, locals cleaned out the blocked conduit through the bottom of the basin, and the geyser has been regularly erupting ever since.
For more on Strokkur Geyser, please see icelandtravel.is.
Gullfoss Waterfall
This was a quick stop. We had 30 ish minutes here. That was enough, though, as there wasn’t much else to do other than the waterfall. The Gullfoss waterfall is beautiful. I’m glad that we got to see it. Surrounded by ice, the fall is the most stunning I have seen. We started at the bottom, and I headed up the stairs to the top viewpoint. Then along the path a bit further. I wanted to see the Gullfoss waterfall from all angles.
The photos I got have a few specs of water, which were misty at the top of the fall, and some got onto my lens. I still really like how the photos look and will add them in.
Facts about Gullfoss Waterfall
he waterfall goes down two drops. The first is 11m (36 ft) high, and the second is 21m (69 ft) tall. This waterfall leads into the 1.6 miles (2.5 kilometers) long crevasse below. A catastrophic flood created the canvas at the end of the Ice Age. This crevasse is lengthened by roughly 25cm per year due to water erosion.
For more on Gullfoss waterfall, please visit icelandtravel.is.
Kerið Crater
Coming to our next stop Kerið Crater. This is a crater created by a volcanic eruption. There’s not much to see here; it’s just a hole in the ground with some water. Thinking and reading about how it was formed is quite interesting, however.
Facts about the Kerið Crater and its formation
Kerið was believed to be a cone volcano that erupted and emptied its magma reserve. Once the magma was depleted, the weight of the cone collapsed into the empty magma chamber.
For more on Kerið Crater, please visit guidetoiceland.is.
The Golden Circle is over, now off to The Blue Lagoon
Our next stop was a shopping mall. The exciting thing about this mall is that you can stand over the European and North American tectonic plates.
That was a quick stop on the way to the Blue Lagoon. We drove here on a vast stretch of road with views of the coast to our left, mountains, and lava fields and creators. I don’t know much about the areas, but they were interesting.
We could also see how the Lava had flown over the tops and down the mountains. We could also see the lava smoke from the most recent eruption.
The weather wasn’t that good, so I didn’t get any photos of this. We were on a bus with tinted windows so they wouldn’t have any good ones anyway.
At The Blue Lagoon
At the Blue Lagoon, we were given 2 hours at 4:30 and returned to the bus at 6:30. The Blue Lagoon is exciting. The lagoon is a runoff of geothermal water from the power plant situated next to it. The water does get filtered. The powerplant isn’t like one elsewhere and harnesses its energy from the earth. Contrary to popular belief, this means that the Blue Lagoon is not a natural spring. However, it’s still a geothermal pool with mineral-rich water.
The blue lagoon is a must-visit attraction. It was pretty empty compared to the many pictures I saw online, so I think we got lucky. I enjoyed my time here, but not much goes on, so I believe that 2 hours is more than enough time. It takes longer if you get treatments as well, but if you’re going to use the lagoon, the two were good for me. You may want more or less time, that’s my opinion.
What do I think of the Golden Circle Tour?
Firstly, I have to mention our tour guide. I can’t remember his full name, but he goes by his family name, Howser. He was with the company Bus Travel Iceland. I can’t vouch for the rest of the guides, but Howser was very knowledgeable. He knew a lot about the landscape and everything that has ever gone on in Iceland. I feel fortunate to have gone on a tour with them. I recommend checking them out if you go to Iceland.
Do I recommend this tour, though? The answer is yes; you get to; see some of Iceland’s amazing sights. Suppose you do the time did time also end up with a trip to the Blue Lagoon. I believe this trip is a must if visiting Iceland. You don’t need a guide for it, but you’ll learn more than you would by driving to these spots solo.
Suppose you would like to see more about my time in Iceland. You can check out any of the posts below or visit my Iceland trip category.
