With a day to explore the Golden Circle in Iceland, we were headed to the Thingvellir National Park. It was first on our list of places to explore. For those not familiar with ‘The Golden Circle’ as it’s known, it is must-see area not too far from Reykjavik. It is made up of three distinct places… namely, Thingvellir National Park, the Gullfoss Waterfall, and the hot spring area around the famous ‘Geysir‘.
This is a great overlook of the parliamentary/historical area at Thingvellir National Park
For those wanting to make a great day trip from Reykjavik and see some of the amazing geological areas, a trip through the Thingvellir National Park (and the Golden Circle as a whole) is not to miss. Truth be told, this would actually be my second time traversing through Thingvellir National Park. If you want to catch a glimpse into my first experience exploring this area of Iceland, you can catch my Golden Circle Tour post.
Exploring Iceland’s Thingvellir National Park
This shows a good side snap shot of the rocky divide along this Mid-Atlantic Ridge that runs right up through the middle of Iceland – Thingvellir National Park
However, the main reason for my second visit to this magical place was very simply due to the fact that Thingvellir (spelled “Þingvellir” in Icelandic) is awesome and I just didn’t want to pass up the opportunity not to visit again this time around. It is also a huge area, made up of around 90 square kilometers. With an area this big, you can literally spend an entire day exploring. Today however, we were on limited time. And since I’d been here before, I really wanted to see an area that I hadn’t seen the first time. And of course, the second reason for my return visit here was due to the fact that my traveling companion had yet to ever experience this geological phenomenon!
So you must be wondering just what the heck this area is all about? Why the weird name? What about it that makes it so special and unique? Well, the Thingvellir National Park is actually where Iceland’s parliament was first created back in 930 AD. So it holds a very special place in the hearts of current day Icelanders.
It is also the area in which the continental divide between the tectonic plates of present day North America and Africa/Europe actually pull apart. And although this rift between continents (better known as the Mid-Atlantic Ridge) pulls apart under the Atlantic Ocean sea floor, it actually surfaces in Iceland and is best seen in the Thingvellir National Park.
To this day, the two continental plates are pulling apart at a rate of 2 centimeters per year. And as mentioned, this is the only place where the continental divide actually goes onto land and runs right through the middle of Iceland! Yeah, how cool is that? Way cooler when you get a chance to see it up close in personal! In fact, this volcanic area is responsible in part for forming what Iceland is today… a huge island in the middle of the North Atlantic. For all these reasons including its historical beginnings in Iceland as the center for its parliamentary formation, it was declared a UNESCO world heritage site in 2004. To learn more you can check out additional info on the Thingvellir National Park.
But getting back to our road trip through the area, we ended up finding a hiking path not far off route 36 that runs through the park and that led us to this waterfall area.
Just proving that we were here! And yes, it was very cold and those are in fact ice-covered rocks in the background!
Looking downstream right in the middle of this continental divide on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge
Further within the park are many more hiking trails and areas to explore. There is also a lake, named “Þingvallavatn” which is located south of the Thingvellir National Park area. You can drive the perimeter of this scenic lake however, for those wanting an even more exotic experience, you can scuba dive Þingvallavatn Lake too. Yep, that’s right. Þingvallavatn Lake is known as one the best dives in the world and scuba divers come from all over to experience this magical place. I mean where else can you scuba dive in freshwater and be able to navigate and explore an area where two continents are actively splitting apart?
This is a shot looking north along the coast of Lake Thingvallavatn – Thingvellir National Park
Scuba diving in Lake Thingvallavatn
For us, we decided to forgo the scuba diving for now and just drive the park and surrounding area of the lake… Such an amazing place. Don’t miss the chance to visit the Thingvellir National Park for your next Iceland trip!
We were now on our way to the next stop along the Golden Circle tour… visiting the Gullfoss Waterfall. Stay tuned!
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