If you wish to unwind after an adventure-filled day, we recommend a visit to the Secret Lagoon, or Gamla Laugin, in Flúðir. The Golden Circle offers a great number of detours that you can add to your trip. Be enchanted by sheer contrast of green vegetation below the waterfall and the lunar-like fields further north. Yet the summer season gives you the best lighting conditions for photographing the falls in their full glory. If you’re planning a visit to Iceland during the winter season, you’ll have a unique chance to see the cascade partly frozen and glistening with ice. Thanks to Sigríður, Gullfoss was donated to the nation and is now a protected site. Though she lost the case, public opinion ran in her favor and the plant was never constructed. Sigríður even threatened to throw herself into the falls. In 1907, she took legal action against a landowner who wanted to build a dam across the Hvítá River. She was a local farmer and guide who helped save Gullfoss from exploitation. The waterfall drops 105 ft (32 m), turns right and then drops again down into the deep canyon.Ĭlose to the base of the staircase leading up to the upper part, you’ll find a memorial to Sigríður Tómasdóttir. Here you can safely admire the dramatic setting. The main viewing area is the platform on the top of the canyon. Gullfoss, otherwise known as the Golden Falls, takes its name from the golden color its waters take as they pass over the lava rock and the clouds of rainbows that appear on sunny days. Each year, conclaves meet here to celebrate Midsummer and Iceland’s independence. It was here Iceland declared its independence from Denmark in the year 1944. Lögberg is now marked with the Icelandic flag and symbolizes the national identity. The backdrop of Almannagjá created an ‘amphitheatre effect’ and ensured that the Law Speaker was clearly head. In the foreground of Almannagjá’s cliffs sits Lögberg (the Law Rock), a craggy outcrop where Althing’s law speakers recited the laws and expressed their ideals of justice to the assembled crowd below. Tourists can walk from the parking lot down the gorge into the wetlands below. One of the most eye-catching attractions is Almannagjá, Iceland's largest volcanically-formed gorge. Here ripples Þingvallavatn (Thingvallavatn), Iceland's largest spring-fed natural lake, famous for trout and char fishing, as well as snorkeling and scuba diving. Much of the region is scattered with grass-covered lava fields and gushing waterfalls. Located in a rift valley, Þingvellir National Park is a volcanic hot spot, enclosed by hulking cliff faces. Though the governmental proceedings moved to Reykjavik in recent centuries, it’s still the oldest-running parliament in the world. It’s believed that markets were also often held at assemblies, contributing to the festive atmosphere. Every year, people traveled to the Althing by horse or foot from all across the country. Since then, Þingvellir (Icelandic for “Plains of Assembly”) has become a central gathering place to discuss laws and settle disputes. In the year 930 c.e., more than thirty Vikings gathered here and created Iceland's first parliament, the Althing. Established as Iceland's first national park in 1928 and a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2004, Thingvellir is the most revered place in Iceland. Iceland's unique location on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge is nowhere more evident than at Thingvellir (or Þingvellir in Icelandic), where the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates are visibly shifting away from each other.
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