Þingvellir National Park

Introduction

Thingvellir - literally 'assembly plains' - is called the heart of Iceland and the cradle of the nation, inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2004 for its cultural value. Around AD 930 the Althing, one of the world's oldest surviving parliamentary assemblies, was founded here and sat until 1798; the Law Rock (Logberg) stands at the foot of the Almannagja gorge, where the Drekkingarhylur (Drowning Pool) was used in medieval times to execute women found guilty of specific crimes. Almannagja was opened as the North American and Eurasian plates pulled apart - separating about 2 centimetres a year, with the valley floor down 3-4 metres since the assembly's founding - and a boardwalk from the Hakid visitor centre drops into it, one of the few places on Earth where you can stand between two continents on dry land. Inside the gorge, the Silfra fissure opened in a major earthquake in 1789; its water comes from Langjokull glacier meltwater some 50 km away, filtered underground through porous lava for an estimated 30-100 years before emerging, giving visibility often beyond 100 metres and a constant 2-4C - among the world's most famous snorkelling and diving sites, its three sections nicknamed The Crack, The Cathedral and The Lagoon; a drysuit is required and access is only with licensed operators. Other highlights include the roughly 13-metre Oxararfoss waterfall, Thingvallavatn - Iceland's largest natural lake at about 84 square kilometres, 114 metres deep, with four separately evolved forms of Arctic char - the 1859 Thingvellir church, Flosagja (the Flower Fissure) and Peningagja (the Coin Fissure, where throwing coins is now discouraged). The park is free and open around the clock; main car parks charge about ISK 1,000 per vehicle per day.

✨ Highlights

🛈 Practical Info