The Golden Circle is the most popular tourist route in Iceland, and always has been. In the 18th century, there were not many tourists in Iceland, but Geysir and Hekla Volcano were the places everyone wanted to visit. In the 19th century, Gullfoss and Þingvellir started gaining popularity too, while Hekla Volcano got less popular.
Even though Gullfoss, Geysir and Þingvellir are the main attractions of The Golden Circle, there are plenty of other interesting places to visit on The Golden Circle route.
The Golden Circle is not actually a part of The Ring Road around Iceland. But to be honest, we were just curious to experience it during these strange times. So around noon, we left Arctic Nature Hotel in Selfoss and started our day trip.
Kerið
Our first stop, the crater Kerið in Grímsnes, was only approximately a 10 minute drive away from Selfoss. Kerið is a 55 m deep explosion crater about 3000 years old and is a protected natural feature. It’s located in a group of crater-hills called Tjarnarhólar. The story goes that when the water level rises in Kerið, it falls to an equal extent in the small lake on the mountain Búrfell in Grímsnes, and vice versa.
Seyðishólar
Much of the lava in Grímsnes came from Seyðishólar, a cluster of craters close to Kerið. The volcanic rocks in the craters have a very vibrant red color. This color is formed during the oxidation of iron in the lava, in particular when it comes into contact with water. The volcanic rocks from Seyðishólar are used for building roads in Grímsnes. Unfortunately, decades of mining have made an irreversible mark on the craters. However, I think it’s worth a short stop, just to have a quick look at this strange Mars-like environment.
Sólheimar
Sólheimar is a sustainable ecovillage, founded in 1931. It’s the oldest community of its kind in the world where abled and disabled people live and work together. The community focuses on the growth and development of man and nature, which you can see all around you when you visit this unique place. We learned about the history of Sólheimar and its visionary founder Sesselja Hreindís Sigmundsdóttir in Sesseljuhús Environmental Centre, took a stroll along one of the walking trails in the Sólheimar woods, visited the art gallery to view beautiful artwork by the community’s inhabitants, and stopped by the local store Vala to buy some peppers from the community’s green houses.
It would have been possible to spend the entire day at Sólheimar, but we had to move on to the next stop on our itinerary. We’ll definitely visit again soon, and then we’ll make sure to have time for waffles at the local café, Græna Kannan.
Skálholt
For many centuries, Skálholt was one of the most important places in Iceland, a political and religious centre. From 1056-1796 it was the seat of a bishop and a school, but towards the 18th century both were relocated to Reykjavík. Archaeological excavations in Skálholt in the beginning of the 21st century unearthed a settlement cluster from the 17th and 18th century, and it is clear that older remains lie beneath them.
The present cathedral in Skálholt was consecrated in 1963. It stands in the same location as all 9 previous churches that have been in Skálholt during its 1000 year history. In the cathedral’s basement it’s possible to view some of the things found during the archaeological excavations, as well as to walk through the mysterious tunnel connecting the cathedral to the settlement next to it. On the other side of the cathedral is a remake of the chapel Þorláksbúð, which was destroyed in 1785, in one of the worst earthquakes in Icelandic history.
Friðheimar & Reykholt
Reykholt is a village in a geothermal area with many greenhouses. Here there are many opportunities to buy all kinds of fresh local produce. The most popular stop in Reykholt is Friðheimar, famous tomato-growing greenhouses. They have a restaurant in one of their greenhouses where they offer all kinds of delicious tomato-based meals. I always have the tomato soup, which is served with freshly baked bread, and this time was no different. After a nice meal at Friðheimar, we made a short stop at their neighbours’, Gróðrastöðin Kvistar, to buy some raspberries. It’s always good to have a snack on the road.
Faxi
Our next stop was at the waterfall Faxi (also called Vatnsleysufoss) in Tungufljót river. Faxi is not a big waterfall, only 7 meters tall, but it’s 80 meter wide. It’s popular with local fishermen to go salmon fishing in Tungufljót and at Faxi waterfall. To the left of the waterfall is a salmon ladder from the 1960s, built to encourage salmon to swim down the river.
Geysir & Haukadalur
Now famous for the hot springs Geysir and Strokkur, Haukadalur has always been an important place in the history of Iceland. In the Saga Age, one of Iceland’s most influential families, Haukdælir, lived in Haukadalur. In the 10th century a school was founded there, in which many learned men got their education, the best-known being Ari Þorgilsson (1067-1148), who wrote Íslendingabók (The Book of Icelanders).
Most of Haukadalur now belongs to the Icelandic State. Extensive forestry has resulted in Haukadalsskógur, the largest national forest in the south. The are many beautiful hiking trails in the forest, as well as Haukadalskirkja church. It is said that a giant is buried by the church, and the ring from his walking stick is on the church’s door. Close to the church is a hot spring called Marteinslaug.
After spending some time in Haukadalsskógur, we made a short stop at Geysir and Strokkur. Geysir, the sprouting hot spring from which the word geyser derives, is now mostly dormant. But a smaller geyser Strokkur typically erupts every 5-10 minutes. The whole area is very geothermally active.
Gullfoss
Gullfoss is actually two waterfalls, the upper waterfall is 11 meters high and the lower one is 21 meters tall. It falls into a canyon 2500 meters long and 70 meters deep, hollowed by the river Hvítá for thousands of years. Nowadays, Gullfoss belongs to the Icelandic State, but it used to belong to the farm Brattholt, which is close by. Around the turn of the 19th century, foreign investors wanted to purchase Gullfoss and use it for a power plant. The Brattholt family (in particular Sigríður Tómasdóttir) fought against these plans and eventually prevailed. Thanks to them we can now enjoy this beautiful nature.
Efstidalur Farm
At this point we were getting pretty hungry, so we decided to stop at Efstidalur Farm. Efstidalur is a family run dairy farm, where visitors can experience authentic Icelandic farm life. The restaurant at Efstidalur is called Hlöðuloftið (“The Barn Loft”) and is right above the barn, as the name suggest. They offer a variety of Icelandic cuisine made from local ingredients. I had a delicious burger with skyr sauce and feta cheese. After dinner we went downstairs to have some homemade ice cream for dessert.
Laugarvatnshellar
It was not uncommon for people to live in caves in Iceland back in the day. They were often caves that were naturally formed, but were then made bigger and better by its inhabitants. It’s strange to think that people used to live in Laugarvatnshellar caves, and only 100 years ago. But thinking of the alternative option people had in Iceland back in the day, the turf houses, perhaps a nice cave wasn’t such a bad idea.
The descendants of the last inhabitants of Laugarvatnshellar remade the caves to what they were when the people lived there. They now offer guided tours of the caves, which are very informative and interesting. The caves were closed when we got there, but we’d been there before and can confirm that they are definitely worth a visit.
Þingvellir National Park
It was already pretty late when we reached Þingvellir. It didn’t really matter thought, because in summer it doesn’t get dark at night. Personal fact: I was actually christened in the church at Þingvellir.
Þingvellir is the most important historical site in Iceland. The national assembly of Iceland, Alþingi, was founded there in 930, making it the oldest running parliament in the world. Þingvellir is also very interesting because of its geology, because the continental drift can easily be seen in the cracks and fault of the region. When in Þingvellir, it’s a good idea to visit Öxarárfoss, a beautiful waterfall that was created hundreds of years ago to provide water for the visitors of Þingvellir. Þingvellir is a national park and on the UNESCO heritage list.
After a nice day trip, we headed back to Arctic Nature Hotel in Selfoss to have a late night snack in our cozy studio apartment and prepare for the next day.