Golden Circle – Iceland

Previous: Sky Lagoon, Silver Circle, Hraunfossar                                              Next: South Iceland Day Trip

July 10

Golden Circle

We enjoyed another great breakfast at the Eyja Guldsmeden hotel, which we were sorry to leave. I booked two different hotels in order to get a variety of hotel and location. Our Backroads friends Ann and Luise met us at the hotel restaurant at around 8:15. We checked out and then we headed for the famed Golden Circle in the rental car.  Emilie and Elizabeth weren’t pleased with my perceived lack of mastering of the clutch on the car the day before, (as evidenced by their mock neck braces) and so Emilie drove from this point forward. We had some cloudy skies and some threat of rain, but it was a nice day for a road trip, not cold at all.

The scenery heading to the Golden Circle was a prelude of things to come.

Oxararfoss

Not too far out of Reykjavik I saw a sign on the side of the road with a picture of a camera on it, meaning…photo op! I had Em pull into the parking area there.  This was quite fortuitous, as it turned out to be a satellite parking area for getting to Oxararfoss waterfall in the historic “heart of Iceland”, Thingvellir National Park. We walked down a stony embankment onto a boardwalk path through a moss-lined rock chasm to the waterfall. Without realizing it we were on the Oxararfoss Waterfall Trail.

It was about 1/4 mile to the waterfall. This is an historic trail that was used for scenery in Outlander and Game of Thrones (I’ve never actually seen either of those shows but that’s what other people said). The Oxararfoss waterfall at the end of the trail was stunning, with a viewing/photo op platform, and rocks to climb on for more daring photos.

Then we got in the car and drove back to the entrance to the Visitors Center for this National Park to use the restrooms. It was very busy there with tour buses and lots of cars. We were lucky to have stumbled upon the other route to the falls. We looked around a bit and enjoyed the unique landscape.

Geysir

Then back in the car toward Geysir Hot Spring area on the Golden Circle.

On this leg of the trip, we stopped for lunch at a very rustic place Ann found online.  Good thing, too, because none of us would have recognized this as a place with a restaurant. The restaurant is called Hloduloftid  It is part of a working cattle and sheep farm called Efstidalur. There is a farm hotel here as well. They serve their own meat and dairy, as well as that of other farms in the area. We weren’t sure if they were open but I went in and after seeing nobody around, I walked into the back kitchen and found somebody who said they were just opening for lunch. Next thing we knew there are several other parties coming in for lunch…the locals knew when they opened, for sure. We ordered our fresh, very local food at the counter and took a table overlooking a stall with cattle. They served excellent beef burgers (big surprise).  This was a great find by Ann.

After lunch, on to Geysir Hot Spring, Iceland’s version of Old Faithful. This place is very touristy and crowded. We were lucky to get a parking spot.  We chose to start out by hiking a fairly steep trail to a ridgeline that overlooked the geysers and mud pits on one side, and very green, lush mountain and valley on the other.  This was a fantastic vista. We could see the various geysers below shoot off from this viewpoint, too.

The descent down toward the geyser area was very, very, very muddy. It was muddy too. When we got down, we first did our best to wipe the mud off of our shoes and pant legs in the little bit of grass we could find (glad we had a rental car!).

The actual famed Geysir has been inactive for a while, but a smaller geyser called “Strokkur” is very active, and it is the main attraction these days.  We waited and watched Strokkur erupt a few times. It erupts about every 10 minutes and it shoots steaming water up about 100′. The eruption is not overly impressive, especially if you have seen Old Faithful, which we have. If we had to skip one thing on the Golden Circle, this would have been it.  I think it really needs Geysir, which hurls water over 200′ high to be active for it to really be special. The landscape and ridgeline trail vista were worth the stop more than the active geysers.

Gullfoss

Then, 15 minutes up the road we got to the highlight of the Golden Circle, Gullfoss waterfall. This is a spectacularly huge waterfall that prompted comparisons to Niagara Falls. (I won the bet…Niagara is bigger). It is the largest waterfall in Iceland in terms of water flow, not height. We needed to park somewhat creatively as it was very crowded. It required a short hike along a busy trail to get to the main viewing area.  You could just tell by the noise of the water that this was going to be something special, and it did not disappoint. Nothing can say more than the pictures and video.

Faxi Falls

This was the turnaround point of the Golden Circle.  From here we did the return trip via the lower half of the Circle. First stop…Faxi Falls about 20 minutes away. There was a small entry fee for these falls as it is privately owned.  There were only a couple of people here…a welcome change from the busy Geysir and Gullfoss, far more intimate. The falls are not massive like Gullfoss, but we could walk right up close to them via a well-made boardwalk.

After lingering at the edge of the falls and getting very wet from the spray, we walked the boardwalk to the small mom & pop cafe there called Vid Faxa. We dried off, and had a snack and coffee here.

Kerid Crater

Then, 30 minutes further to Kerid Crater. This is not officially part of the Golden Circle, but it is a popular detour.  Like Crater Lake in Oregon, Kerid Crater has rain water in its caldera. We walked around the top and the bottom of the crater.  This was pretty cool. We split up here because Emilie, Luise, and Elizabeth wanted to go to the bottom of the crater, while Ann and I preferred hiking the upper perimeter. We had fun calling to one another from top to bottom…sound travelled easily within the caldera. The red rocks and earth around the crater are unusual for Iceland, it reflects the fact that it is a “young” volcano.

Got back to Reykjavik around 7:00 PM.  Em and Ann dropped us off downtown while they drove the car back to the car rental place.  The adventure they had returning the car and getting a cab back to downtown is worthy of its own blog…suffice to say there was an element of luck involved in their successful return to downtown. Emilie, Elizabeth, and I checked into The Hotel Centrum, while Ann and Luise went on to their hotel about 1/4 mile away. This hotel was on the other end of the active, touristy section of downtown from our last hotel, and this was the much busier end. A perfect change of pace. Somehow, we got the only room with a balcony over the street. Em and I were in a large upper loft while Elizabeth had the main floor open bedroom.

Em and I walked to dinner at the very lively Saeta Svinid gastropub with Ann and Luise. Really friendly service here, great lively atmosphere, and good food, though we did pass on the smoked puffin and minke whale appetizers.

Em and I walked Ann and Luise back to their hotel and then we walked around town and explored a bit.

We then enjoyed some drinks at the hotel bar, served by a very friendly server from Albania.

Off to bed.

Next: South Iceland Day Trip