Golden Circle

The three headline stops each tell part of Iceland's story. Þingvellir hosted the Alþingi, an open-air assembly founded around 930 that met there until the end of the 18th century, and it was there that the Republic of Iceland was declared on 17 June 1944. The Haukadalur hot spring area gave the English language the word geyser, after the Great Geysir. Gullfoss, meanwhile, became a symbol of nature conservation after a long dispute in the early 20th century over plans by foreign interests to exploit it.

The name Golden Circle is a modern tourism label rather than a historic one, but the route follows roads that have linked the farming districts of the south-west with Reykjavík for generations.

The Golden Circle passes through a productive farming district. The geothermal heat that powers the geysers also warms greenhouses, which is why tomatoes, cucumbers and other vegetables are grown here despite the northern latitude. Þingvellir holds a special place in Icelandic identity as the site of the old assembly and of the declaration of the republic, and Icelanders treat it with a mixture of pride and reverence.