ROAD TRIP
Forget Route 66: if you’re looking for a drive on the wild side, Iceland’s Golden Circle is as cool as it gets
ONE OF Iceland's biggest exports, Bjork, put it best: it’s all so quiet. And that’s no more evident than in the Nordic Neverland’s Golden Circle – a call of the wild for independent travellers looking for adventure out on the open road.
But don’t be fooled by the eerie stillness of this epic landscape; Europe’s most sparsely populated country may be short on people, but it’s big on packing a punch in the nature stakes.
Iceland is volcanically active, meaning it’s a wonderland of literally earth-shaking phenomena – from lava fields to glaciers and geysers. This road trip is more drive-view than drive-thru.
The beginning of a memorable road trip is all in the planning, and for a great escape on an island which sits just outside the Arctic Circle, you certainly need to be prepared.
Your journey on the Golden Circle will start in the capital, Reykjavík, and, of course, at a car rental agency. Iceland is full of places where you can hire vehicles – but as you will be heading out into a vast wilderness, it’s best to choose a reputable company that will provide quality cars with insurance and breakdown cover. STARS OF THE SHOW DEPENDING on your plans and preferred pit stops, your Golden Circle adventure can take from four to ten hours, covering around 300km (190 miles) in a loop from the capital to the southern uplands and back again. Not only does this road trip mean you can take your time and soak up the staggering scale of the scenery in all its glory, but you can also easily fit it into a weekend getaway.
This road trip boasts three jewels in its golden crown; Thingvellir (spelt Þingvellir, in Icelandic) National Park, the Gullfoss waterfall and Haukadalur. First stop: Thingvellir. Its name meaning ‘thing field’ in Old Norse, the rift valley is 40km (25 miles) from Reykjavík. With everything from spring-water-filled canyons to the largest natural lake in the country, it was favoured by the earliest settlers and marked the spot where the Althing, Iceland’s parliament, was founded over 1,000 years ago.
Back in the car, you’ll head to the furthest point on your trip, Gullfoss. The waterfall plunges into a canyon of the Hvítá River in two stages, the biggest drop being 11 metres. Now a
protected piece of the landscape, this awe-inspiring site has inspired Icelandic artists and literary greats for decades and will be familiar to fans of Echo & the Bunnymen from the cover of their 1983 Porcupine album.
DEPENDABLE GEYSER
MAKE sure you have an anthemic playlist playing as you cruise to your third and final stop – an explosive finale. The Haukadalur Valley is home to some of the island’s most spectacular sights, including a geyser called Geysir. This geothermal giant isn’t very dependable – but visitors can rely on its sidekick, Strokkur, to deliver its eruptive goods up to 30 metres into the air every ten to 15 minutes.
Driving in Iceland is an experience, no matter when you choose to visit. During summer, daylight stretches well into the evening, with the sun never setting in the north during June. And during the dark of the winter, road trippers have the chance of catching Mother Nature’s most magnificent show – the Northern Lights.
Whether you make a day out of your road trip or decide to pitch up camp along the way, the memory of a rally around Iceland’s Golden Circle is something you’ll always treasure.