Golden Circle from Reykjavík

Scenic road chapters

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Reykjavík

   Reykjavík is the sort of capital that you could walk across in an afternoon, and that is part of the charm. It sits on a windswept peninsula in the southwest of Iceland, with painted corrugated-iron houses, the great concrete spire of the Hallgrímskirkja church, and a harbour backed by the long snowy ridge of Esja across the bay. About two thirds of Icelanders live in this region, so by Icelandic standards it is a metropolis.

   Read the complete Reykjavik write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Reykjavík is where the day begins. Next is Thingvellir.

2. 2. Thingvellir

   Þingvellir is the place where Iceland began as a country, and it is one of the few spots in the world where history and geology tell the same story. In the year 930, chieftains from across the island met on a plain beside a lake to set up the Alþingi, an assembly that is often described as the oldest parliament in the world still in some form existing. They gathered each summer at the foot of a great rock wall, listened to the Lawspeaker recite the law from memory, settled disputes and sometimes executed offenders in the river. Around the year 1000 the assembly decided that Iceland would adopt Christianity, and in 1944 the republic was proclaimed here.

   Read the complete Thingvellir write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Thingvellir comes up about 48 km into the recorded legs. Next is Geysir.

3. 3. Geysir

   The word geyser comes from this place. Geysir, the original, sits in the Haukadalur valley in the south of Iceland, in a patch of steaming, bubbling ground that has been famous for centuries. The great Geysir itself has been mostly dormant for long periods, waking now and then after earthquakes, but its neighbour Strokkur more than makes up for it. Every few minutes the water in the pool domes up, turns a glassy blue and bursts into the air, typically ten to twenty metres high, before collapsing back with a rush. The crowd that has gathered, phones raised, lets out a collective gasp every single time.

   Read the complete Geysir write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   At least about 109 km into the recorded legs you reach Geysir. Next is Gullfoss.

4. 4. Gullfoss

   Gullfoss, the golden falls, is the great set piece of the Golden Circle, the tourist route that links Þingvellir, Geysir and the waterfall in a long day out of Reykjavík. The river Hvítá, fed by the glacier Langjökull, comes sliding down a gentle slope and then drops in two stages, first a broad step of about eleven metres and then, at right angles, a plunge of twenty-one metres into a narrow, twisting canyon. The spray rises in a cloud, and in sunshine there is almost always a rainbow over it.

   Read the complete Gullfoss write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Gullfoss, about halfway. Next is Kerid.

5. 5. Kerið

   Kerið is a volcanic crater with a lake in the bottom, and it is one of those places that looks as though someone staged it. The walls are a deep rusty red, made of scoria, the porous volcanic rock that forms when lava cools quickly, with patches of moss and grass clinging to the slopes. In the middle is a pool of intensely blue-green water, which shows up especially well against the red on a bright day. The crater is about two hundred and seventy metres across and the lake is shallow in places but deep in others.

   Read the complete Kerid write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Kerið sits at 154 km, late in the day. Next is Reykjavik.

6. 6. Reykjavík

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Reykjavik write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   The route ends here after 255 km.