Iceland (Lonely Planet, 7th Edition) - Fran Parnell [90]
Getting There & Away
The easiest way to get here is on a Golden Circle tour Click here or in a hire car.
From mid-June to August the daily Reykajvík Excursions ( 580 5400; www.re.is) bus service 6/6A runs at 8.30am from Reykjavík to Þingvellir, stopping for 45 minutes at the Park Service Centre before continuing to Geysir, Gullfoss and back to Reykjavík (return trip Ikr7000).
There’s no public transport to the southern end of Þingvallavatn.
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AROUND ÞINGVELLIR
Nesjavellir
Whenever you step into that pongy shower in Reykjavík, think of the weird shining Nesjavellir geothermal plant, southwest of Þingvallavatn. It’s here that boreholes plunge 2km into the earth, bringing up water heated to 380°C by toasting-hot bedrock. It drives a series of huge turbines that produce the city’s electricity. Hot water is also channelled off to Reykjavík, 23km away. The whole system is explained at the visitor centre ( 516 7508; www.or.is; 9am-6pm Jun-Aug), where you can admire the immaculate-looking machinery; and there are hot rivers and steaming vents all around (stick to paths). The visitor centre also has leaflets showing walking trails in the area.
Icelandair’s sleek new Hótel Hengill ( 482 3415; hengill@icehotels.is; s/d Ikr15,500/18,700; ), just off Rte 360, perches on the toes of the volcano Hengill, overlooking the gleaming geothermal plant and its steaming, eggy-smelling surroundings, and lake Þingvallavatn. It offers a serene setting; smart, comfortable rooms with flatscreen TVs, kettles, leather sofas and striking forged-iron artwork on the walls; a good restaurant; a gym and sauna – and hot pots, of course! Breakfast costs an extra Ikr1200.
Iceland Excursions (Gray Line Iceland; 540 1313; www.icelandexcursions.is, www.grayline.is) has a Golden Circle Classic day tour (Ikr11,000) that visits Nesjavellir, Þingvellir, Gullfoss, Geysir and Hveragerði (although in winter, access to the geothermal plant may not be possible).
You can also walk to Nesjavellir from Hveragerði via the volcano Hengill (Click here).
Laugarvatn
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Laugarvatn (Hot Springs Lake) wasn’t named this way for nothing – this agreeable body of water is fed not only by streams running from the misty fells behind it but by the hot spring Vígðalaug, famous since medieval times. A village, also called Laugarvatn, sits on the lake’s western shore, and it is one of the best places to base yourself in the Golden Circle area. Naturally, there’s a swimming pool here.
SIGHTS & ACTIVITIES
Down by the shore is Vígðalaug, used for early Christian baptisms. Rather more gruesomely, the bodies of Jón Arason (Iceland’s last Catholic bishop) and his sons were dug up a year after they were executed in 1550, and brought here to be washed and blessed: the bier stones Líkasteinar are where they were laid.
Near Vígðalaug, you can hire kayaks, paddleboats and rowing boats ( 897 8988, 899 5409; kayaks & paddleboats per 30/60 min Ikr700/1200, rowing boats Ikr1000/1500; 1-5pm Jun-Aug) to take onto the lake if the weather is good.
You’ll also find the natural geothermal swimming pool & steam bath (Gufubað; 486 1251; Lindarbraut 1; adult/under 12yr Ikr350/200; 10am-10pm Mon-Fri, 10am-6pm Sat & Sun Jun–mid-Aug, 5-8pm Mon-Fri, 1-5pm Sat & Sun mid-Aug–May) there, with three hot pots. A geothermal beach is also planned.
Laugarvatn Adventure ( 862 5614; www.caving.is; Laugarvatn campsite; Ikr4900-5900) runs two- to three-hour caving trips in the hills around town. The company provides boiler suits, but bring a pair of gloves for crawling and scrambling through lava tunnels and up rocky slopes.
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