No visit to Iceland is complete without an outing to the Golden Circle, available as a day-long escorted motorcoach tour or convenient for a self-drive trip.

The World's Oldest Surviving Parliament

In the year 930 A.D., the Vikings who had settled Iceland traveled from their farms and villages throughout the countryside to a place of exotic natural beauty. Its steep rocky cliffs were cut by a sleek waterfall that cascaded into a crystal clear river that flowed through the flat terrain. The people gathered together and told stories and decided on laws that governed the nation for centuries to come. This was to become the world’s oldest surviving Parliament, where history was made and Iceland flourished.

This historic place – Thingvellir – was also one of the most geologically significant locations on the planet, for it is where the tectonic plates of North America and Europe literally pull apart, creating a vast “no man’s land” between the continents.

Crossing the area in an all-terrain vehicle may be the most enjoyable way to experience this fascinating region, especially in winter time when snow covers the rocky lava fields and steep hills provide a rugged ride.

The Golden Falls

The journey should also include a visit to Gullfoss, where a perpetual rainbow or two creates a colorful arc above the pounding falls that gush through the earth’s crevices in this place that beckons the civilized world to see how it all began.

The Great Geyser

You will know the land there is still alive as you pass the fields where bubbling geothermal waters swirl in churning pools that spew a misty torrent high into the air, only to subside back into a steamy ripple. These are the geysers, Nature’s way of reminding us of the power beneath the surface. The power that the Icelanders have harnessed to heat their homes and pools and showers.

They may well be the original environmentalists.