Date: 23rd Feb 2023
Today we set out for our first main holiday location, the waterfall at Gullfoss. The weather remained very overcast and dull and as we drove inland and climbed towards Gullfoss we drove into something of a whiteout. Nevertheless, we turned off to visit the waterfall of Thorufoss, which was used as a location in Game Of Thrones. Whilst it is a fairly impressive waterfall, the dull misty weather was not doing our photography any favours.
Thorufoss In Winter
Our next stop was Thingvellir, site of the ancient parliament of Iceland, and also a location where the island is splitting apart due to tectonic forces. There is a visitor centre located at the top of the Thingvellir gorge, and from there a path descends the gorge and continues for about 2km to Oxarafoss, known as the Parliament Falls. The waterfall is interesting as it is not natural – the river was re-routed when the area was used for the Icelandic parliament.
The Path To Oxarafoss
Oxarafoss In Winter
From the visitor centre, there is an expansive view over the Thingvellir area, which is a National Park. Prominent in the view is an attractive church, and although we had visited Thingvellir a coupe of times before, we had never visited the church as it involves a 7km detour to reach it.
Thingvellir Church
From the church, there is a view towards Thingvallavatn – the largest lake in Iceland. As it turned out, Thingvellir and Gullfoss was the only area where we cam across any snow, which was quite a contrast to our previous visit three years before when we were snowed in on two occasions.
View To Thingvallavatn
After our visit to Thingvellir, we drove on to our hotel at Gullfosss, and although we visited the waterfall that evening, the weather was far too dull and misty for any potography.