Golden Circle

The city of Reykjavik is one thing, but Iceland's Golden Circle is on a new level. The Golden Circle is around 185 miles long and there are different sites to stop at along the way. My mom and I went on a tour of the Golden Circle and stopped at the following sights: Kerið Crater, Faxi Waterfall and Gullfoss Waterfall (hence the blog name, Fallin' For Iceland 😉), Geyser Hot Springs Area, and Þingvellir National Park. I'll talk a little about each stop below.

First stop: Kerið Crater. While the middle of winter was not the best time to stop and see this crater, it was still a cool experience. This volcanic crater is 180 feet deep and three thousand years old! After this once-volcano erupted, scientists think it depleted its magma reserve and fell into its current shape. It has since filled with water and is now a lake! Pretty cool!

Second and Third Stops: Faxi and Gullfoss Waterfalls. Iceland is filled with waterfalls, and we were lucky enough to see two of them. Below are a few images I have of the Faxi Waterfall, which was much smaller nor was it as powerful as Gullfoss. However, its calmness really was charming! After Faxi, we stopped at the Gullfoss Waterfall and it was extremely foggy and I took only a couple photos of it because of the intense fog. Pictures never really do beautiful sights justice anyway, right? 

Fourth Stop: Geyser Hot Springs Area. My. Favorite. Stop. EVER. Simply put, this place was fascinating and a MUST SEE if you're in Iceland. If you don't know what a geyser is, it is a hot spring (almost like a vent in Earth's surface) that ejects boiling water and steam into the air. I still haven't figured out how to upload videos onto this thing, but I'll put it on Facebook so check it out there. Instead, here are a few clips that show the progression of these geysers. This geyser is called Strokkur and is Iceland's most active at the moment. The Geyser Hot Springs Area had numerous geysers like this one, and most of them would erupt every 5 to 8 minutes. Strokkur's eruptions would blast water 65 feet into the air -- incredible!

Check out how BLUE the water is as the eruption occurs! (These are unedited photos!!)

Fifth Stop: Þingvellir National Park. Any Game of Thrones fans?! This place might look familiar to you. The rocky cliffs are stunning and a hike to the top rewards you with incredible views! This was our last stop on the Golden Circle and we got to watch the most gorgeous sunset here. (Check it out and my pretty momma in the first pic below!) Þingvellir definitely deserves its title as a national park!

All for now on the Golden Circle - go back to the "Fallin' For Iceland" tab and click on the "Icelandic Food" button to read about Iceland's food!