Iceland's Golden Circle: A Gentle Day of Geysers and Falls

Some landscapes make you work for them. Iceland's Golden Circle, happily, does not. It is a loop of roughly 230 to 250 kilometres east of Reykjavík that strings together three extraordinary places: Þingvellir, where the earth is visibly pulling itself apart; the steaming valley of Haukadalur, where a geyser performs every few minutes; and Gullfoss, where a glacial river falls in two great steps into a canyon.

What makes it such a kind trip for older travellers is the shape of it. Most of the day is spent in a warm car or coach, watching moss-green lava fields, horse pastures and far-off glaciers slide past the window. The walking is in short, optional doses — and at each of the three main stops, the finest view is the one closest to the car park.

Iceland has no railways and no cable cars, so the road is the scenic route here. That is no hardship: the roads are good, the distances between stops are small, and you can do the whole circle at a comfortable pace with long coffee stops and still be back in Reykjavík for dinner.

A little history

The Golden Circle is a modern tourist route, but it is built on very old ground. At Þingvellir, Icelandic chieftains founded the Alþingi, the national assembly, in the year 930 — often described as the oldest parliament in the world. For centuries, farmers rode here each summer to hear laws proclaimed from the Lögberg, the Law Rock, to settle quarrels and arrange marriages. Around the year 1000 it was at this assembly that Iceland agreed to accept Christianity, a decision taken to avoid civil war.

Þingvellir became a national park in 1928, to mark a thousand years of the Alþingi, and UNESCO added it to the World Heritage list in 2004 for this rare combination of parliamentary history and raw geology.

Gullfoss has its own story of stubbornness. In the early twentieth century there were plans to harness the falls for hydroelectric power. Sigríður Tómasdóttir, daughter of the farmer at Brattholt who owned the land, campaigned fiercely against the scheme. The falls were never dammed, and the stepped path down towards the lower viewpoint carries her name: Sigríðarstigur.

Gullfoss, the "golden falls" on the Hvítá river in South Iceland.

What to see

Þingvellir National Park

About 45 to 50 kilometres east of Reykjavík, roughly a 45-minute to one-hour drive, Þingvellir sits in a rift valley along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, where the North American and Eurasian plates are slowly separating. The result is a wide, pale-floored valley edged by cliffs of black rock, with Iceland's largest natural lake, Þingvallavatn, filling the far end.

The easiest and best introduction is the Hakið visitor centre at the top of the Almannagjá gorge. Its viewing platform looks straight down the length of the rift valley and across the lake — a five-minute walk on level ground from the car park, with accessible parking, a lift and accessible toilets. From there a paved path descends gently into the gorge itself, between walls of lava, towards the little white church and the old assembly site.

The Öxarárfoss waterfall is reached on a flat boardwalk from a separate car park, about ten minutes each way, though the last few metres to the falls involve steps.

Geysir and Strokkur

About 40 minutes further on, the Haukadalur valley hisses and steams from a hundred vents. The great Geysir that gave its name to every geyser on earth is now largely dormant, but its neighbour Strokkur performs reliably every six to ten minutes, throwing a column of boiling water typically 11 to 32 metres into the air, occasionally higher.

Strokkur is only a few minutes' walk from the car park on a gravel and boardwalk path, and there are benches. The full loop around the geothermal field is about 1.7 kilometres and gently uphill at the far end; you lose nothing by walking only the first stretch. Stay on the marked paths — the ground here is genuinely hot.

Gullfoss

Ten minutes from Geysir, the Hvítá river turns a corner and drops in two steps, roughly 11 and 21 metres, into a long canyon. On a bright day a rainbow stands permanently in the spray, and on clear days you can see the white dome of the Langjökull glacier upstream.

From the upper car park and visitor centre, a paved, gently sloping path of around 400 metres leads to a platform with the classic wide view of both drops and the canyon. This is the comfortable option and it is the better photograph. The lower path, Sigríðarstigur, brings you close enough to be soaked, but it means roughly a hundred steps down and back up, and it is normally closed from about October to April because of ice.

Kerið crater

On the western leg of the loop, on Route 35 towards Selfoss, Kerið is a volcanic crater some 6,500 years old holding a startling blue-green lake. The rim walk takes about 20 minutes on an uneven path; steps lead down to the water for those who want them. The view from the top of the steps, a short stroll from the car park, is enough.

A rainbow in the spray above Gullfoss, one of the main attractions of the Golden Circle.

The most comfortable ways to enjoy the scenery

There are no funiculars or scenic trains in Iceland, so comfort here comes from choosing the right seat and the right stop.

• The drive itself. Routes 36, 37 and 35 are paved and well maintained, and the landscape between the sights — lava fields, steaming boreholes, Icelandic horses, the long blue line of Þingvallavatn — is half the pleasure. Driving the loop without stops takes under four hours, which leaves plenty of time for a slow day.
• A small-group tour. Minibus tours from Reykjavík take 8 to 10 hours, park close to each viewpoint and carry the commentary you would otherwise miss. Ask for a small vehicle rather than a full-size coach: fewer passengers means shorter walks from the car park and less waiting.
• The warm viewpoints. Both the Gullfoss and Hakið visitor centres have large windows, hot soup and seats with a view, which matters when the wind turns. Friðheimar's greenhouse is the warmest room on the route.
• A geothermal soak at the end. Laugarvatn Fontana, on the lake shore, and the Secret Lagoon at Flúðir are both modest, easy places to sit in hot water and watch the steam drift. Both have steps into the water with handrails, and staff used to guests who need a moment.

The view from the Gullfoss area towards Geldingafell mountain and the Langjökull glacier.

A day trip nearby

If you have a second day and are staying anywhere near Selfoss or Hveragerði, the South Coast makes a natural companion to the Golden Circle and is even gentler on the legs.

Seljalandsfoss, about 120 kilometres from Reykjavík and roughly an hour's drive east of Selfoss, is a slender fall you can in theory walk behind — but the path round the back is wet, rocky and genuinely slippery, and the view from the flat meadow in front is the one worth having. Some 30 kilometres further east, around 25 to 30 minutes, Skógafoss drops in a single broad curtain onto black sand, and the best viewpoint is a level five-minute stroll from the car park. Ignore the long staircase up the side unless you want it.

Allow a full day with the drive from Reykjavík, or a relaxed half-day if you are already based in the south. Many organised south-coast tours run around eight hours and add a black-sand beach, where the surf is dangerous and best admired from well back.

Honest advice for comfortable travel

• The three main viewpoints are all short and mostly paved. Þingvellir's Hakið platform, the path to Strokkur and the upper Gullfoss platform are each a few hundred metres from parking on made-up surfaces. You can see the Golden Circle properly without climbing a single staircase.
• Skip the lower Gullfoss path. Around a hundred steps down and back, often wet, no railings at the bottom. It is closed in winter anyway, roughly October to April.
• The wind is the real difficulty, not the gradients. Spray at Gullfoss and open rift at Þingvellir can be bitter even in July. A waterproof hooded coat, gloves and shoes with proper grip change the day completely.
• Base yourself to shorten the driving. Staying one or two nights around Selfoss, Laugarvatn, Reykholt or Flúðir turns a long loop into two easy half-days. Reykjavík is also perfectly workable, but it means a 7-to-9-hour day out.
• Mind the daylight. From late May to early August it barely gets dark, so you can start late and still have light. In December you have only about four to five usable hours — book a tour rather than drive yourself.
• Winter driving needs respect. A four-wheel drive with winter tyres is strongly advised from November to March, and conditions can change within an hour. If there is any doubt, let a professional driver take the wheel.
• Facilities are good. All three main sites have visitor centres with toilets and cafés, and the paths are clearly marked. There is no shade and little shelter between them, so plan your stops.
• Ground can be hot and crusts thin in the geothermal area. Stay on the paths and keep a hand on the rail at Strokkur when the crowd surges back from the spray.

Gullfoss under snow — the lower path is normally closed in the icy months.

What to eat

Golden Circle food is better than you might expect, mostly because of geothermal heat.

At Friðheimar, a family farm near Reykholt, you eat lunch inside a working greenhouse among tomato vines warmed by hot water from a borehole. The signature dish is a bottomless tomato soup with fresh bread, and there is tomato ice cream for the brave. It is popular enough that booking ahead is wise.

At Laugarvatn Fontana you can watch a pot of hverabrauð — hot-spring rye bread — being dug out of the black sand where it has baked underground for about a day, then eat it warm with Icelandic butter. It is dense, dark and faintly sweet, and quite unlike anything from an oven.

Elsewhere, look for lamb soup, which is the national comfort food; smoked or pan-fried arctic char from the lakes; skyr, the thick cultured dairy that comes plain or with berries; and langoustine soup near the coast. Tap water is excellent and free everywhere, though the hot tap smells faintly of sulphur.

Getting there

Our verdict

The Golden Circle earns its fame honestly. In a single unhurried day you stand in a valley where two continents are drifting apart, watch boiling water fired out of the ground, and feel the cold breath of a glacial river falling into a canyon — and almost all of it from paved paths a few minutes from where the car is parked.

For travellers over 60 it is one of the kindest great landscapes in Europe: short distances, warm visitor centres, good toilets, no altitude, no steep climbs required. Give it two days rather than one, stay out in the countryside, bring a proper coat, and let the lower staircase at Gullfoss belong to somebody else. The view from the top is the better one anyway.

Gullfoss with Geldingafell mountain and the Langjökull glacier in the background.

“In one easy day the Golden Circle shows you the earth splitting, boiling and falling — and asks almost nothing of your knees.”

Photo credits

• Gullfoss, Iceland overview: Someone35, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
• Gullfoss, South Iceland 2012: Beata May, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
• Gullfoss, Suðurland, Islandia, 2014-08-16, DD 119: Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
• View from Gullfoss, Iceland, 20230501 0937 3775: Jakub Hałun, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
• Iceland - 2017-02-22 - Gullfoss - 3684: Pierre-Selim Huard, CC BY 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
• Gullfoss, Iceland, 20230501 0957 3823: Jakub Hałun, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons