Iceland’s Golden Circle

It was our second day in Iceland, and we somehow managed to pry ourselves out of bed despite still having mild jetlag. The Laundromat Café was so good the day before that we ate there again – this time ordering large coffees with breakfast. Our plan was to explore the top portion of the Golden Circle, and hike to Glymur Falls – so caffeine would be essential for making it through such a busy day.

The Golden Circle is a popular scenic route just east of Reykjavík. There were three main attractions, all located on the top portion of the loop. The first was Þingvellir National Park, Iceland’s first national park and a Unesco World Heritage Site. It protects many historic buildings and ruins from Iceland’s first parliament. We were most excited to see the large rift valley caused by the separating North American and Eurasian tectonic plates. It is one of the few places in the world where the separating tectonic plates can be seen, and we were able to hike right in between them.

The second stop was the geothermal area in Haukadalur, which contains the geysers Geysir and Strokkur. Geysir was the original hot water spout that all other geysers around the world were named after. Geysir’s eruptions were unpredictable, but Strokkur erupted every 5-10 minutes. David and I were incredibly shocked that there weren’t any boardwalks or fences surrounding the geyser; just a simple, limp rope around the perimeter of the water, allowing us to stand a mere 20 feet away.

Our last stop on the Golden Circle was Gullfoss, a large waterfall that stretched nearly 800 feet across. We took the lower path that ran beside the brink of the falls. The powerful waterfall created such a thick cloud of mist that it hindered the view down the ravine. It was a little intimidating standing so close and actually feeling the force of the water hitting the walls of the gorge.

It was time to backtrack and head north toward Glymur Falls. We found a shorter route along a gravel road that cut the corner, getting us to the trailhead sooner. It was definitely the road less traveled. We didn’t see any cars or people; only remote farms, small waterfalls trickling down the surrounding mountains, and countless sheep wandering the grassy meadows. It was great to get off the grid, and truly feel like we were exploring Iceland.

Glymur Falls is the second highest waterfall in the country. The trail is fairly short, but there are several obstacles to go through before reaching the falls. After following the marked path through a field, we had to climb through a small cave to reach the river at the bottom of the gorge. We then had to cross the river on a narrow log with only a thin wire to hold on to. From there the path gets steep, to the point where we were pulling ourselves up the trail using thick ropes anchored into the rock. It wasn’t much further until we reached the overlook with an impressive view of the waterfall and the steep, mossy walls surrounding it.

Back on the road we headed north towards our hotel in the town of Borgarnes. We thought our adventurous day was coming to an end, but traveling across the fjord we had our first sighting of Icelandic horses! We immediately pulled over to get a closer look. A few horses walked right up to us to say hello, while the others continued grazing in the most picturesque spot overlooking the vast fields of farmland and the calm water of the bay. As if the view couldn’t get any more perfect, the sun began to set, casting a golden glow on the surrounding meadow.

David and I reached our hotel in Borgarnes just in time to watch the sunset over the fjord during dinner. We then made a beeline to the hotel garden to soak in their natural hot tubs, something we’ve been looking forward to all day. We met a couple on their honeymoon that told us the northern lights were supposed to be active over the next few nights. So we set an alarm for midnight, bundled up, and took our cameras outside. It wasn’t strong, but right above us were green stripes floating across the sky! We went into this trip knowing the aurora was pretty rare to experience in September, so we were incredibly excited to see even this faint show. Seeing the aurora was a major bucket list item we were unexpectedly checking off, and it was only our second night.