What is the Geysir in the Golden Circle

Geysir, commonly known as The Great Geysir, is a geyser in southwestern Iceland. The term Geysir comes from the Icelandic verb "geysa," which is an Old Norse verb. The English word geyser comes from the Icelandic word geysir. It was the first geyser described in paper, as well as the first discovered by modern Europeans.


Why do so many people come to explore this area?

Strokkur & Geysir

This iconic geothermal area located in the southern region of the country is made up of many fissures and geysirs, only with one iconically erupting. This small geyser named, Strokkur, erupts with a spray of hot water that showers on lookers who stand by. Its explosion can be seen even as far as from driving in on your car into the geothermal area. The Strokkur geyser is the most active geyser in Iceland and erupts naturally every 4-10 minutes, it usually erupts up to 15 or 20 meters (49-65,6 ft). In history books, you can find accounts of it having gone up to 40 meters (131 ft).

Strokkur and Geysir are believed to be the same age. However, since Geysir was considered to be the more magnificent Strokkur, it wasn’t mentioned in any written books until 1789.

What not to do in this geothermal area?

Stick to the rules! The water is incredibly hot, and the lines were installed as a result of accidents. Follow the rules; they're there for a purpose.

Go there without visiting Gullfoss, the waterfall is only about 7 min driving distance away. You simply can’t visit the area and skip Gullfoss.

Litter! The area is greatly kept and it’s important that we do what we can to help to keep it that way.