It’s ironic that we got a bit of a late start on our first full day in Iceland, since my original itinerary actually says “start early” on it for day 2. I think we were just very tired from traveling (or from not sleeping since we hadn’t figured out the heater in our van yet), and couldn’t bring ourselves to get a terribly early start.
Our first stop of the day was Thingvellir National Park (50 minute drive from the campground), home to a rift valley, large lake, and beautiful paths that walk you past several small waterfalls. We spent maybe an hour or so a the park, because our day was so full, but you could easily spend much longer there, following along the many walking trails throughout the park. Historically, it was the meeting site of ancient Icelandic parliament meetings, and more recently, for Game of Thrones fans, became the filming site of the pass leading to Vale of Arryn.
Thingvellir National Park
From Thingvellir we drove to Stroker, which means “churn” in Icelandic, (50 minute drive), a geothermal area filled with hot springs and several geysers, the largest of which is very fittingly named Geysir and erupted every 10 or so minutes. We stuck around long enough to catch Geysir go several times, trying to capture decent pictures, and actually ate at a restaurant inside the visitor center across the street.
The eruption of Geysir
We then took the short drive up the road to Gullfoss (10 minutes), our first of the “big” Icelandic waterfalls we’d visit. There are well-marked paths that give you the option to view the falls from very close (expect to get a little wet if you opt for this choice) or from a bit further away for the full effect of the falls, or both. This is was of the larger tourists spots, so be prepared that it may be quite busy and there may be some waiting on the good photo spots.
Gullfoss means Golden Falls
Full view of Gullfoss
We went from one of the more popular waterfalls in the country to one of the least popular when we headed to Háifoss (1 hour, 20 minutes). I had written on my plans that it was a rougher drive, and depending on conditions, substantial amounts of walking may be involved, so we really weren’t sure what we were getting ourselves and our little van into. All was well after we turned off the main road until we came upon water spanning the width of the road, and we just stopped in front of it for several minutes, trying to figure out how deep it was and if there was enough road for us to skirt around it on the outside. As we were debating, a truck was coming from the other way, and we were able to get a good idea of how deep the water was, but were still unsure if the van could ford what the pickup made look easy. The guys in the truck stopped to roll down their window and encourage us it was worth the drive, but we weren’t sure until we watched a van like ours come toward us a few minutes later, which also stopped and told us we’d be able to make it up if we took the drive slowly and carefully. We finally made it up a small mountain to a tiny gravel lot, and from there made the short trek to where Haifoss (literally “high falls”) was visible, all the while being buffeted with wind so strong it made walking difficult. Whereas many of the places we stopped were full of other people on their own water fall chases, we were the only two on the cliff watching Haifoss plummet into the cavern in front of us. It’s the fourth highest waterfall in the country! However, due to the wind and cold, we didn’t stay very long before we made the slow trip back down to the main road.
The perilous drive to Háifoss was definitely worth it!
Our final stop for the day (3o minute drive), although we had initially planned for more, was Hjálparfoss, a cool little twin waterfall surrounded by the characteristic black basalt stone that’s all around the country.
Hjálparfoss, surround by lava-made basalt
Finally, we made our way to Langbrok campground (about an hour’s drive), another one of the camping card sites, which although it was pretty basic, put us in a good place to start from the next day.
