The Golden Circle

​We spent a wonderful few days exploring the Golden Circle area of Iceland, with its remarkable geography, taking in waterfalls, geysers, the black sands of Vik and the Blue Lagoon, as well as visiting the site of the volcanic eruption in April 2010.

We visited several waterfalls, most notably Skogafoss and Gulfoss. Skógafoss is one of the biggest waterfalls in Iceland, with a drop of 60 meters and a width of 25 meters. Walking right up to it you can hear the full force of the water, and get soaked by the spray coming from it!

At Gullfoss, the water falls 32 metres in two stages into a canyon 70 metres deep. In 1979 Gullfoss was designated a nature reserve to permanently protect the waterfall and allow the public to enjoy this amazing waterfall.

In 2010 the Eyjafjallajokull volcano erupted, creating an ash cloud that covered much of Northern Europe, causing chaos for air travel. The photo below shows the farmhouse and land nearest the volcano. A small museum close by tells the story of how the Icelandic people in the area coped with the eruption.

The black basalt sand beach at Vik is very beautiful, and atmospheric. When we visited the sea was rough with waves crashing against the off-shore rocks.

The Geyser at Stokkur is amazing. It erupts every 10 minutes or so, and its column of boiling water can reach as high as 30 metres. The steam coming from the boiling water creates quite a surreal, other-worldly scene.

Finally, no visit to Iceland would be complete without a visit to the Blue Lagoon, a geothermal spa, where you can swim in the warm water which is rich in minerals.

Author,

Written and photos by Hazel Wright.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/100236008@N07/
https://www.eyeem.com/u/hazelmw