Golden Circle Tour

Gullfoss, the Golden Falls

Gullfoss (the Golden Waterfall) is a waterfall located in the canyon of Hvítá river in southwest Iceland.

Gullfoss is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Iceland. The wide Hvítá rushes southward. About a kilometer above the falls it turns sharply to the left and flows down into a wide curved three step "staircase" and then abruptly plunges in two stages (11 m and 21 m) into a crevice 32 m (105 ft) deep. The crevice, about 20 m (60 ft) wide, and 2.5 km in length, is at right angles to the flow of the river. The average of water running down this waterfall is by 100 – 180 m³/s in the summertime and 50 – 110 m³/s in the wintertime. The highest flood measured was 2000 m³/s.

Geyser "Strokkur"

Geysir. The oldest accounts of a geyser at Haukadalur date back to 1294. Earthquakes in the area caused significant changes in local neighbouring landscape creating several new hot springs. Changes in the activity of the Geysir and the surrounding geysers are strongly related to earthquake activity. In records dated 1630 the geysers erupted so violently that the valley around them trembled.

The nearby geyser Strokkur erupts much more frequently than Geysir, erupting to heights of up to 30 metres every five minutes or so. Strokkur's activity has also been affected by earthquakes, although to a lesser extent than the Great Geysir. There are around thirty much smaller geysers and hot pools in the area, including one called Litli Geysir ('Little Geysir').

Thingvellir

No single place epitomizes the history of Iceland and the Icelandic nation better than Þingvellir by the river Öxará. At Þingvellir – literally "Parliament Plains" – the Alþing general assembly was established around 930 and continued to convene there until 1798. Major events in the history of Iceland have taken place at Þingvellir and therefore the place is held in high esteem by all Icelanders. Today Þingvellir is a protected national shrine. According to the law, passed in 1928, the protected area shall always be the property of the Icelandic nation, under the preservation of the Alþing.

Kerið

Kerið is a volcanic crater lake located in south central Iceland, on the popular tourist route known as the Golden Circle. It is one of several crater lakes in the area, created as the land moved over a localized hotspot, but it is the one that has the most visually recognizable caldera still intact. The caldera, like the other volcanic rock in the area, is composed of a red (rather than black) volcanic rock. The caldera itself is approximately 55 meters deep, 170 meters wide, and 270 meters across. Kerið’s caldera is the most recognizable because at approximately 3,000 years old, it is only half the age of most of the surrounding volcanic features.

Hveragerði

Hveragerði is a small town in the south of Iceland located 45 km to the east of Reykjavík on Iceland's main ringroad, Route 1. The river Varmá runs through the town. The population was 2281 on 1 April 2008.

The surrounding area is part of the Hengill central volcano, and is geothermally active and experiences very frequent (usually minor) earthquakes. The town is known for its greenhouses, which are heated by hot water from volcanic hot springs. An infrequently erupting geyser, Grýla is at the entrance of the Ölfusdalur valley. The borehole Leppalúði on the way to the Gufudalur valley erupts continuously, reaching a height of 10-12 meters. Close to the church is a hot spring called Sandhólshver, formed during the violent South Iceland earthquake of 1896. A fenced-off geothermal area in the town has numerous hot springs and fumaroles.