The Golden Circle, Iceland

Iceland’s “The Golden Circle” is a popular tourist route which includes the Geysir Geothermal Area, Gullfoss waterfall, and the Þingvellir (Thingvellir) National Park, which became Iceland’s first listing on the UNESCO World Heritage Sites List in 2004. On our Iceland cultural and wilderness small group tour, we visit Thingvellir on Day 3 and Gullfoss and the Geysir area on Day 16, so the Golden Circle frames the start and the end of our journey around the island.

This tourist route, derived from the name of Gullfoss–“golden waterfall” in Icelandic–covers around 250 kilometres from the capital Reykjavík into Iceland’s southern uplands and back. This allows travellers to take in the country’s most famous natural and cultural sites. This is a popular day tour as the whole route can be driven in three to four hours, although of course travellers are encouraged to have long stops at each site in order to fully appreciate the attractions and natural wonders.

There are three major stops on this route:

Þingvellir (Thingvellir) National Park

Thingvellir National Park, Iceland

The Þingvellir (Thingvellir) National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that witnessed the establishment of the Viking Althing in 930, which formed the beginning of the Icelandic nation. In Old Norse, Þingvellir translates to “parliament plains“, and was the site of the oldest parliament in Northern Europe.

During the Viking age of exploration in the 9th century, the Vikings sailed from Norway and other Nordic settlements to stake claims to land on Iceland. From Iceland, they sailed further to Greenland and Vinland (North America, named by Leif Eiríksson, Erik’s son, after the wild grapes he saw on the shore). There were no permanent settlements before this time, apart from a few Irish monks living as hermits, but the island was known to the Greeks and to Irish hermits as Thule. However, “Thule” may refer not only to Iceland but to the other regions in the Arctic; the word was used to describe “the northernmost part of the habitable ancient world”.

A Viking assembly, the Althing, was established after the settlement period. Thing, from the Old Norse þing, is the word used to describe these parliaments, and the name survives in the place names across Northern Europe, such as Tinganes (Faroe Islands), Dingwall (Scotland), Tynwald (Isle of Man), and Tingwall (Shetland and Orkney).

A view of Thingvellir Church in the Thingvellir National Park in winter, Iceland.

Fragments of the structure that housed the Althing remain, 50 booths built from turf and stone. In 1397, a Scandinavian union was formed at Kalmar, Sweden (Kalmar Union) bringing the separate kingdoms of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark under a single monarch. Iceland’s chieftains had sworn allegiance to the Norwegian king in 1262–64, and when Norway and Denmark came under one king in 1380, rule over Iceland passed to Denmark too. The rulers of Denmark increased their hold on the country in the 17th century. Iceland won the right for home rule in 1904, but later chose to break all ties with Denmark. On May 7, 1928, a law declared Þingvellir (Thingvellir) a “protected national shrine”, and it opened as a national park in 1930, the Althing’s 1,000th anniversary. It was here where the Icelandic republic was established in 1944.

Thingvellir is also where you can experience walking between two continents, as the Eurasian and North American continental plates meet here, visible on the earth’s surface and slowly pulling Iceland apart, by an average of about 2 centimetres a year.

For years it was Iceland’s only UNESCO World Heritage Site, until it was joined in 2008 by the volcanic island Surtsey, and by Vatnajokull National Park in 2019.

Geysir Geothermal Area

Strokkur Geysir in Iceland

Glaciers, geysers, and waterfalls dot Iceland’s famously harsh and dramatic landscape. Because it is a relatively young island, you can practically see the countryside forming as volcanoes, lakes, and geothermal hot springs shape the environment.

Geysir is derived from the Old Norse verb that means “to gush”, and you can immediately tell why it acquired this name from the intense geothermal activity in the area. The Geysir Geothermal Area is dotted with hot pools and vents, including the earliest documented geyser in Europe, the Great Geysir, and its neighbour, Strokkur. Strokkur is the more active of the two, erupting every six to ten minutes and usually shooting water 15 to 20 metres into the air.

Gullfoss Waterfall

Gullfoss Waterfall, Iceland

Iceland is also known for its many beautiful waterfalls. A short drive from the Geysir Geothermal Area is the Gullfoss waterfall, which tumbles down from a great height of 32 metres (105 feet). Declared a natural reserve in 1979, Gullfoss may have gotten its name from the golden hue of its glacial waters (though there are other theories). Visitors to the waterfall can visit the Gullfoss Kaffi cafe and restaurant first for some refreshment; the cafe is only three minutes away from the wooden boardwalk that would take you close to the waterfall.

Travelling the Golden Circle

The Golden Circle consists of well-maintained roads, so you can decide to get a rental car and devise your own Circle tour, or to simply sign up to a group tour, like Odyssey Traveller’s Iceland tour, which visits not only the major stops of the Golden Circle but other natural wonders as well, such as the Snaefellsnes Peninsula, the volcanic crater Viti, and the Jokulsarlon glacier lagoon. You can read our article on the Iceland Ring Road Itinerary for Mature Travellers for a full overview of the tour across 17 days, region by region. On this tour, you will be driven by coach from your hotel and back, giving you a comfortable, hassle-free Icelandic holiday experience.

Seeing the Golden Circle on our Iceland tour

Our Iceland cultural and wilderness small group tour splits the Golden Circle across the journey rather than doing it as a single day loop. On Day 3 we leave Reykjavík for Thingvellir National Park, where we learn about the movement of the continental plates at the former site of the Althing. On Day 16, after a visit to the horse and tomato farm at Fridheimar, we continue to Gullfoss and the Geysir geothermal area, where Strokkur erupts every few minutes, and see how Icelanders capture geothermal power at the Hellisheidi power plant before returning to Reykjavík for our farewell dinner. The tour is Level 2 – Moderate and led by an Odyssey Program Leader.

Articles about the Golden Circle and Iceland published by Odyssey Traveller.

The following articles published by Odyssey Traveller for mature travellers will help you make the most of your visit to Iceland:

• Questions About Iceland
• Visiting Iceland for Mature Travellers
• Lunar Landscapes and Geology in Iceland
• Highlights of Iceland: Blue Lagoon
• Iceland Museum Collection
• Egilsstadir, Iceland
• Isafjordur, Iceland

For all the articles Odyssey Traveller has published for mature travellers, click through on this link.

External articles to assist you on your visit to the Golden Circle and Iceland

• Thingvellir–Northern Europe’s First Parliament
• USA Today 10Best: This is a side of Iceland you’ve never seen before
• Visit Iceland: The official tourism website
• Travel + Leisure: How to travel to Iceland
• Ice, Fire and Feuds: On the Trail of Iceland’s Sagas
• Lonely Planet: Top things to do in Reykjavík