THINGVELLIR NATIONAL PARK (Þingvellir)

HISTORY

Þingvellir National Park is a historical gem for local Icelanders. To understand why, we have to go back hundreds of years.

The first settlement of Iceland began as early as 874 AD with the arrival of Ingólfur Arnarson, who is considered, together with his wife Hallveig, to be the first permanent inhabitants of Iceland. According to the book Landnámabók, Arnarson founded a settlement in the mentioned year 874 in the southwest of the island called Reykjavík (today's capital), which in Icelandic means "smoke bay". The name is apparently derived from the geothermal area full of thermal springs and geysers.

The book Landnámabók is considered to be the oldest surviving record of the settlement of Iceland by the Norsemen (today's Norwegians). Contains a list of all settlers including their families. The book describes more than 3,000 people and 1,400 settlements and is thus a very valuable source of information about the history of the whole of Iceland.

The settlement itself lasted 56 years and this time is called the "settlement period". A number of Nordic clans began to form all over the island, fighting each other not only for the limited resources that Iceland had to offer, but also because of different beliefs. New local assemblies were formed, but most of the power was concentrated in the southwest of the island, in Reykjavík, in the hands of the descendants of Ingólfur Arnarson. The rest of the settlers outside the Reykjavík area did not like this situation and called for a general assembly that would allow everyone to live in harmony.

A man named Grímur Geitskör was given the task of gathering all the tribes and choosing a suitable meeting place. The search turned up a place accessible from all parts of the island (today's Þingvellir), as the man who owned this land was convicted of murder and his property became public. As early as 930 AD, more than 30 ruling chiefs met here to discuss law and order and subsequently formed one large community. This community was called the Althing (General Assembly), which is the name for today's Icelandic parliament. The Althing is considered one of the oldest parliaments ever.

CURIOSITIES

Þingvellir National Park was created in the rift valley environment at the watershed between the North American and Eurasian continental plates. There are a number of gorges that were created due to tectonic forces. The biggest one (Almannagjá) is made into a hiking trail that can be walked.

In the adjacent lake Þingvallavatn, it is possible to snorkel and enjoy the national park from a completely different perspective. The price of the experience ranges from 21,900 ISK. More information can be found at www.troll.is or www.dive.is or www.adventures.is

PARKING

There are a total of 3 main parking lots in the national park

There is a sufficient number of spaces, so you don't have to worry about not parking here. The parking fee is 750 ISK per car. It is possible to pay in parking machines or online at www.checkit.is

• P1
• P2
• P5

GULLFOSS

Gullfoss, also known as the "Golden Waterfall", is considered one of the most popular and most visited waterfalls on the island. The waterfall is a double cascade, meaning it is two waterfalls. The first cascade has a height of 11 m, the second 21 m. In the summer months, the flow of water is so strong that it reaches a value of 140 cubic meters per second.

Access to the waterfall is FREE

PARKING

There are a total of two parking lots at the waterfall. Both parking lots are free.

GEYSIR A STROKKUR

Geysir is the oldest recorded geyser ever. Its activity was described already in 1294 and its name gave the name to all other geysers around the world. However, its activity is irregular and the frequency of water jets ranges from 5 to 8 hours.

On the other hand, its neighbor Strokkur, which is only a few meters away, spews boiling water every 5 to 10 minutes, up to a height of 20 m.

Access to the geysers is FREE

PARKING

There are a total of two parking lots in the area. The main one in the central area and the secondary one 500 m to the north.

KERID (Kerið)

It is a volcanic crater lake up to 14 m deep, depending on climatic conditions. The caldera itself is 170 m wide and 55 m deep and has a typical red-black color.

If you don't want to pay the entrance fee, come early in the morning or late in the evening

Since the entire area, including the crater itself, is on private property, the owners charge an entrance fee of 450 ISK. If you don't want to pay the entrance fee, come early in the morning or late in the evening.