The Golden Circle is composed of three essential sites made up of the Geysir area, Gullfoss and Pingvellir National Park. Ninety percent of tourists only visit this area of Iceland. Many daylong bus trips leave Reykjavik in the morning, returning in the afternoon.
GEYSIR GEOTHERMAL FIELD
Konungshver is a hot pot.
The area's centerpiece, Strokkur, is similar to our Old Faithful. It erupts every five to 10 minutes, sending one quick shot of boiling water 50 feet into the air.
If you don't have your camera ready and pointing at the Geysir, you will miss the shot.
A green lush valley on the other side of the ridge from the geothermic area.
We walked around and waited for more eruptions of Strokkur.
We weren't disappointed.
GULLFOSS
The falls sit on the wide, glacial Hvita river, which drains from Iceland's interior. The name means "Golden Falls", which is where the name "Golden Circle" is derived. They are called Golden Falls because on a sunny day the falls are said to take on a golden color.
The waterfall has two stages; a rocky upper cascade with a drop of about 35 feet and a lower falls where the water drops 70 feet.
Gullfoss was named as one of the world’s top ten waterfalls by World-of-Waterfalls.
We walked the trail to the upper falls. On this trail we got sprayed from the thunderous falls.
Gullfoss is the largest volume waterfall in Europe.
ICELANDIC HORSES
The Icelandic horse is a breed of horse developed in Iceland. The only breed of horses in Iceland, they are also popular internationally.
The breed is mentioned in literature and historical records throughout Icelandic history. Selective breeding over the centuries has developed the breed into its current form.
From the first day we admired these horses as we traveled Iceland's Ring Road.
This little cabin was a wonderful find, located just off the Golden Circle on a gravel road in a remote area. It came with a hot tub and BBQ grill.
Very new and modern, even had a dishwasher, but still no TV.
2 comments:
What a beautiful area! Did you count the number of waterfalls you ended up seeing?
We lost count. So many coming down the mountain, one after another. Iceland is a special place, especially when you go where the crowds aren't.
Post a Comment