Golden Circle Iceland

The Golden Circle is Iceland's most popular day trip — a roughly 300-kilometre (186-mile) loop from Reykjavík that links three of the country's most spectacular natural attractions: Þingvellir National Park, the Geysir geothermal area, and Gullfoss waterfall. The whole route can be driven in a single day, which makes the Golden Circle the perfect introduction to Iceland for first-time visitors and a classic return trip for everyone else. You can see every stop plotted in driving order on our interactive Golden Circle map.

The name "Golden Circle" was coined by Iceland's tourism industry in the 1990s to package this trio of sights as one route — it stuck because it captures both the loop-shaped drive and the golden colour of Gullfoss when sunlight hits the spray. Today more than two million people travel the Golden Circle every year, making it Iceland's most-visited route by a wide margin. But its landmarks mattered long before tourism: Þingvellir was the site of the Alþingi, Iceland's national parliament founded in 930 AD and one of the oldest in the world (a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2004), and Gullfoss was famously saved from a hydroelectric dam in the early 20th century after Sigríður Tómasdóttir threatened to throw herself into the falls — her memorial still stands above the canyon.

Þingvellir National Park

Þingvellir sits in a rift valley where the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates are pulling apart at about 2 cm a year, creating a dramatic landscape of fissures, cliffs and lava fields. Its centrepiece is Almannagjá, a vast canyon marking the edge of the North American plate — walk through it and you are literally walking between two continents. Þingvellir is also where the Alþingi met from 930 to 1798, and the crystal-clear Silfra fissure here offers some of the world's best snorkelling, with visibility over 100 metres. Allow 60–90 minutes; the main walk from the visitor centre through Almannagjá to Öxarárfoss waterfall takes about 45 minutes.

Geysir Geothermal Area

The Geysir field is a steaming landscape of hot springs, fumaroles and mud pots painted in vivid blues, greens and ochres. The original Great Geysir — which gave every "geyser" on Earth its name — is mostly dormant now, but its neighbour Strokkur erupts faithfully every 5–10 minutes, firing a column of boiling water up to 30 metres into the sky. A boardwalk lets you explore safely, and there is a restaurant and shop on site for lunch. Allow 30–45 minutes to catch several eruptions and walk the wider field.

Gullfoss Waterfall

Gullfoss, the "Golden Falls," is one of Iceland's most powerful waterfalls. The Hvítá river drops in two stages — first 11 metres, then a further 21 metres — for a total fall of 32 metres into a 70-metre-deep canyon you can feel thundering in your chest. Two platforms give different views: the upper one is panoramic, the lower one brings you close enough to be soaked by spray and catch frequent rainbows. In winter the falls are partially frozen into spectacular ice formations while the water still roars beneath. Allow 30–45 minutes; it is about a 10-minute walk from the car park to the lower viewpoint.