Thingvellir National Park Þingvellir Hike

Located on the Golden Circle route, Thingvellir (Þingvellir) National Park is probably one of the most suggested locations in guide books. This area contains fascinating landscapes and has an outstanding significance both historically and geologically. Photos don't do it justice; the dramatic landscape does need to be seen in person to be fully appreciated. The scenery is stunning, particularly the views over the lake and along the Rift Valley between the continental plates, and so the park is certainly worth a visit. 

 One of the park’s most pleasant walks takes you between the edge of the North-American plate and an old part of the wall that collapsed away; this is called the Almannagjá gorge. This path impresses the geological processes going on here upon you very clearly, and ends with a charming waterfall called Öxaráfoss. 

There is parking at both the lower level and upper levels, and you can hike between the two quite easily (make sure you check out all the vantage points/observation decks). On the way up from the lower level is a spectacular waterfall - Öxarárfoss, follow the track from the car park. On the upper-level observation deck is a fantastic Toposcope so you can identify the surrounding area. This upper-level deck is also one of the most popular locations for 'Big Bus' Northern Lights tours, this is a nightmare at night as there can be several hundred people milling around, waving lights and getting in the way of cameras.... Game Of Thrones fans might also recognize Thingvellir as it was used for the Arya and Sandor Clegane's journey scenes. It looks completely different in the winter than it does in the summer, we are planning to go back in the summer at some point. If you are booked on a 'Golden Circle' tour you will almost certainly stop here for a short while (not enough time to see it all though) Thingvellir is 40km from Reykjavík on reasonably major roads.