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tiggymalvern
The weather was deteriorating each day at this point in our trip, and so we arrived at Thingvellir National Park in rain that was predicted to last for several hours. But we'd planned to walk, and walk we did!
The area by the car park and visitor centre at Thngvellir was awash with coaches and tourists, as all such places are, even on a Tuesday in February. We planned a three and a half mile loop hike that through the Almannagja Gorge, which is the rift between the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates. It always amazes me what a minimal distance you have to walk from the parking area to find that the crowds thin out considerably. Partly because all the coaches on the Golden Circle Tour only give people an hour at the park, so they don't really have time to do anything.
There are very few photos from the first part of the walk, because it was dismal weather, and trying to take photos is annoying when the wind keeps blowing rain onto your lens. This was Oxarafoss waterfall, dropping into the gorge.
The waterfall is actually artificial - the gorge was the site of the Icelandic parliament, between 930 and 1738. They diverted the river Oxara to flow into the gorge to provide water for the parliament. And also a pretty sight for tourists :-)
Walking further along the gorge towards Hangman's Rock, named for obvious reasons. (There was also a place for beheadings and a drowning pool, their preferred method of execution for women.) The mountains behind were just visible beneath the cloud layer.
The bottom of the gorge consists mainly of wetland/river, still patchy with snow and ice.
Smaller streams run through gaps between moss and lichen-covered lava rock.
Thingvellir church. There's been a church on the site since the 11th century, but this version was built in 1859.
By the time we'd finished at the church, the rain had turned to intermittent drizzle, and the mist was lifting a bit more.
And then there was a hint of sun and a partial rainbow! Just in time for us to be getting back to the car.
As we drove out of Thingvellir, conditions continued to improve, with that huge, flat-topped mountain finally revealed.
Sometimes in Iceland you have to stop randomly somewhere because the landscape and the mountains just Look Like That. (Another reason to self-drive rather than take the coach. We stopped in so many places I would have been seriously annoyed to just drive past.)
More fields full of ponies :-) And sun! It didn't last though.
After our unscheduled pauses, we arrived at Bruarfoss, the Blue Falls. The reason for the name is self-evident. My brother was SO excited to go there, it's one of the Icelandic waterfalls most beloved by photographers.
Looking downstream from the bridge below the waterfall.
Our final call for the day was Kerid Crater, which is about 3000 years old and has a lake in it. Once again, there's a loop hike all around the crater rim, which most people visiting it don't do. The coaches on the Golden Circle tour stop here for thirty minutes, which is long enough to do the rim hike - if you barely stop to admire the view or take photos. We were there for over an hour.
The crater is known for its very red rock. The lake was frozen in mid February.
View north from the crater rim.
And then we had the best surprise! Around the far side of the crater, where there were fewer people, there were ptarmigan all over the slopes. Wearing their pure white winter clothes, and sticking out dramatically after the warmth and rain had melted all the snow.
Male ptarmigan with his Zorro mask.
I'd never seen white ptarmigan before, only in summer when they're brown. My brother had never seen one at all. We were thrilled! My sister, niece and nephew were less enthralled - they thought they were pretty enough, but grew bored as the photography went on...
Driving through the town of Selfoss on the way to our hotel - the bridge over the river and the church. A much larger church for the biggest town in South Iceland. It only has 10,000 people, but that's big enough for it to have a college.
The hotel made a good lamb curry, which we all appreciated after a damp day 😁
The area by the car park and visitor centre at Thngvellir was awash with coaches and tourists, as all such places are, even on a Tuesday in February. We planned a three and a half mile loop hike that through the Almannagja Gorge, which is the rift between the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates. It always amazes me what a minimal distance you have to walk from the parking area to find that the crowds thin out considerably. Partly because all the coaches on the Golden Circle Tour only give people an hour at the park, so they don't really have time to do anything.
There are very few photos from the first part of the walk, because it was dismal weather, and trying to take photos is annoying when the wind keeps blowing rain onto your lens. This was Oxarafoss waterfall, dropping into the gorge.
The waterfall is actually artificial - the gorge was the site of the Icelandic parliament, between 930 and 1738. They diverted the river Oxara to flow into the gorge to provide water for the parliament. And also a pretty sight for tourists :-)
Walking further along the gorge towards Hangman's Rock, named for obvious reasons. (There was also a place for beheadings and a drowning pool, their preferred method of execution for women.) The mountains behind were just visible beneath the cloud layer.
The bottom of the gorge consists mainly of wetland/river, still patchy with snow and ice.
Smaller streams run through gaps between moss and lichen-covered lava rock.
Thingvellir church. There's been a church on the site since the 11th century, but this version was built in 1859.
By the time we'd finished at the church, the rain had turned to intermittent drizzle, and the mist was lifting a bit more.
And then there was a hint of sun and a partial rainbow! Just in time for us to be getting back to the car.
As we drove out of Thingvellir, conditions continued to improve, with that huge, flat-topped mountain finally revealed.
Sometimes in Iceland you have to stop randomly somewhere because the landscape and the mountains just Look Like That. (Another reason to self-drive rather than take the coach. We stopped in so many places I would have been seriously annoyed to just drive past.)
More fields full of ponies :-) And sun! It didn't last though.
After our unscheduled pauses, we arrived at Bruarfoss, the Blue Falls. The reason for the name is self-evident. My brother was SO excited to go there, it's one of the Icelandic waterfalls most beloved by photographers.
Looking downstream from the bridge below the waterfall.
Our final call for the day was Kerid Crater, which is about 3000 years old and has a lake in it. Once again, there's a loop hike all around the crater rim, which most people visiting it don't do. The coaches on the Golden Circle tour stop here for thirty minutes, which is long enough to do the rim hike - if you barely stop to admire the view or take photos. We were there for over an hour.
The crater is known for its very red rock. The lake was frozen in mid February.
View north from the crater rim.
And then we had the best surprise! Around the far side of the crater, where there were fewer people, there were ptarmigan all over the slopes. Wearing their pure white winter clothes, and sticking out dramatically after the warmth and rain had melted all the snow.
Male ptarmigan with his Zorro mask.
I'd never seen white ptarmigan before, only in summer when they're brown. My brother had never seen one at all. We were thrilled! My sister, niece and nephew were less enthralled - they thought they were pretty enough, but grew bored as the photography went on...
Driving through the town of Selfoss on the way to our hotel - the bridge over the river and the church. A much larger church for the biggest town in South Iceland. It only has 10,000 people, but that's big enough for it to have a college.
The hotel made a good lamb curry, which we all appreciated after a damp day 😁
no subject
Date: 2025-03-07 10:35 pm (UTC)I can't tell if we went to the other places, though the names are familiar. After a while, all the stunning scenery in different places looks very like there stuff we'd seen before :) Selfoss rings a bell though.
P1armigan! How super! I'd be thrilled to bits too :) Thanks for sharing
no subject
Date: 2025-03-08 01:05 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-03-08 07:17 am (UTC)I've never seen live Ptarmigan before. They're beautiful.
no subject
Date: 2025-03-08 02:35 pm (UTC)You've barely even started on the waterfalls yet - wait for the next post 😁
no subject
Date: 2025-03-09 12:23 pm (UTC)And great point about self-driving and being able to stop whenever.