Blue Lagoon – A geothermal spa
This iconic spot of Iceland is quite a hit with the tourists as it is one of the most visited attractions in Iceland. It is a man made lagoon with mineral-rich milky blue waters.
We collected our rental car and navigated towards the blue lagoon, 20 kms from the Keflavik International airport near Reykjavik.
While driving towards the blue lagoon, the vast lava fields with shiny green mosses resembled an alien land. This gave us an hint of the adventurous and a unique journey we were going to embark in Iceland.
The parking area was filled with a lot of vehicles but was large enough to accommodate many more. We checked into the lagoon as we booked online in advance. There was a complimentary drink and a silica mud mask in the basic (-Comfort) package.
The warm water rich in silica and suplhur was quite relaxing to the mind and body. There were lot of people here but it didn’t feel crowded as it was quite big. The clouds had given way to the sun which made the weather warm and lovely. The sight of the milky blue water in between the lava fields and volcanic mountains felt surreal with smoke arising from the lava fields.
The swim up bar at the lagoon was a great way to enjoy our complimentary drinks in this pool amidst the dramatic landscapes. We left in some time for Reykjavik to our airbnb accommodation.
After we checked into our airbnb accommodation in Reykjavik and freshening up, we left to explore the famous Golden circle route.
Thingvellir National Park
This national park and a UNESCO heritage site is of significant importance due to it’s history and geology. It is the first attraction in the Golden circle route.
The drive itself towards this national park was filled with stunning landscapes which kept on surprising us by adding various flavors to nature’s dramatic visually appealing appearances featuring a varied belt of mountains and green layers of mosses spread over vast lava fields.
As we arrived late in the evening, there were not a lot of people here. The place is quite big with lot of attractions inside. It can easily take half a day as there are several hiking trails here. As we didn’t plan to spend a lot of time here, we took a walking trail to the church below crossing a bridge.
It was a nice walk with a river passing across the mountains. Have such a lovely place to ourselves was a delight in itself. The church at the end was sitting prettily without anyone disturbing it’s peace. We looked around to breathe the fresh air and inhale the freshness and beauty of this place.
We walked towards Thingvallavatn, the largest natural lake in Iceland with clear water and ducks swimming made us stop and capture the sight in our phones. It was extremely quiet and peaceful making us savor this experience in the best way.
There was path on the road towards Silfra located in Thingvallavatn lake, which is important due to it’s geological signifigance. It is a rift valley where Eurasian and North American tectonic plates meet. The fissure can be seen while snorkeling which is something we skipped. But, it was quite interesting to stand on the top of the tectonic boundary between Europe and North America and watch the surrounding clear water flowing through the river, the magnificent mountains, the rift valley and the green scenic landscapes of lava fields.
It was time to return back to the visitor center where we had parked our car to visit the next attraction of the Golden circle.
Geysirs in Haukadalur Valley
We drove towards the Geysir hot spring area and Strokkur, a geyser which spouts water in every 3-5 minutes. Watching the hot boiling mud pots on the way is quite interesting. As we moved ahead towards the active geyser which is Strokkur, it suddenly erupted in a few minutes throwing water high up in the air.
Even when I knew about it’s eruption, the moment when it erupts caught me with a surprise and it was exciting to see the water being thrown up so high in the air suddenly. Standing next to this natural wonder is amazing and we waited again for the pretty spectacular eruption to capture it this time.
Gullfoss – A divine waterfall located in a canyon
Our next stop was an incredible waterfall which is also my favorite. It is one of the Iceland’s most spectacular waterfalls out of the numerous amazing waterfalls here. It is located near a canyon making it one-of-a-kind.
We followed a walking trail to go down and could spot the huge waterfall from a distance. The trail took us closer to the waterfall with the powerful force of the fall spraying water on us. The enormous waterfall was falling with so much intensity that it was generating an immense spray of water.
The roaring sound of the water was like a melodious never ending rhythm of life which never falters and just goes on forever. Looking at the gigantic waterfall gave me goosebumps as I have never seen anything so miraculous and powerful before.
The power of Mother Nature is astounding and seeing something like this made me realize that is there is nothing above the creator of such majestic things like this waterfall in front of which I was standing. I and my so called imperfect world were so much smaller and insignificant in front of this that I felt like bowing down in front of it and saluting it’s power and beauty.
The infinite amount of admiration we had for this place made us stay here to enjoy being around the waterfall and capturing some moments with this gigantic beauty. We further went up to the higher view point which provided the view of the entire waterfall from a distance but nothing can beat the feeling of the up close views especially with very few people around as we reached here late in the evening.
The trail hugging the waterfall is a pretty sight to look at from the higher elevated view point. It was still daylight and we were happy to make full use of the midnight sun as the sunset in Reykjavik was around 12:00 AM.
We headed back to Reykjavik which would complete the Golden circle loop. Kerid crater was on the way back. It is a volcanic crater lake and since we had plans of visiting many other crater lakes, we did not spend a lot of time here.
The lake looked beautiful inside the crater but we saw better crater lakes in the upcoming days of our vacation.
