May 20, 2025
I took advantage of a rare 48 hour layover in Iceland to visit as many spots as possible in two days. My husband and I started with the Golden Circle, and we were not disappointed. Click the links to read our previous travels in Reykjavik and the Þingvellir National Park.
The Golden Circle
The VisitIceland.com website has created a series of driving routes that take in absolutely spectacular scenery and areas of historical importance. The Golden Circle is a 250 km loop from Reykjavik and it is open year round. Most of it is paved, but there are some gravel roads. The website says a 4×4 is not required, and our micro-car had no problem.
The Golden Circle has several attractions. We also visited:
- Þingvellir National Park
- Geysir – active geothermal geyser fields
- Bruarhlod Canyon – giants anyone?
All the walking routes were short and sweet, so no packs, water or food required.
Bruarfoss Waterfall
After visiting the Þingvellir National Park, we were back on the road. Time to find our next destination – Bruarfoss Waterfall. We turned off the highway and onto our first Icelandic gravel road. We were unsure at first with our microcar, but the road was in great shape. Nicely done Iceland.
We parked and paid our fee, then followed the path. We walked for less than five minutes before we heard the roar of the falls. The terrain is flat grassland. How were we going to see falls in this area? From first look, I’ll admit it’s not very impressive. From the bridge, it’s amazing. We walked to the other bank for another grand view.
As far as I can tell, the falls look like a rift in the lava field. Under the bridge, there’s a definite whirlpool. Then the ice blue water drains into the river. For such a small feature, it’s stunning.
Watch the video at the end of the post.
This video shows the falls from all three sides.
There are so many spots to visit on the Golden Circle route. The Bruarfoss waterfall is a gorgeous side trip that only takes a few minutes to walk to. The ice blue colours are stunning.
Here’s all the places we’ve visited in our whirlwind 48 hours in Iceland.
- Reykjavik
- Golden Circle Route
- Þingvellir National Park
- Bruarfoss Waterfall
- Geysir – active geothermal geyser fields
- Bruarhlod Canyon – giants anyone?
- Víðgelmir Lava Cave – impressive lava tube
- Grábrók Crater – ancient craters and sheep corrals
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Alisen
I love all things mountains! I live next door to the Canadian Rocky Mountains, however I travel the world to enjoy the many different mountain environments and cultures that I can. I hope you enjoy these trip reports, and that it inspires you to accomplish your own adventure goals.
Alisen Dopf 
I enjoy this series 🙂 My brother called me from Reykjavík 10 yrs ago , they were going on an ‘(aurora borealis)’ cruise 🚢
Oh wow! What an interesting cruise. I bet the northern lights from the middle of the Atlantic would be simply stunning. I’m glad you enjoyed the series. Still more to come, but it takes time, as you know.
⬻𓂀☆♡ 🎀 𝐵𝑒𝑎𝑢𝑡𝑖𝑓𝑢𝑙 🎀 ♡☆𓂀⤖
The colour of the water is beautiful! Fabulous captures of the waterfall and landscape.
Thank you! I was surprised with the blue water. In Canada, the blue is caused by glacier runoff, and tiny flakes of shale suspended in the water. We rely on a new influx of glacier flakes to keep the water blue.
I realize their water also comes from glaciers, but this is quite a distance downstream.
The colour of the water!!! 😀
Right!!???!!! I dont’ know why it’s so blue, and it’s bugging me. I did zero colour touch-ups. It’s that stunning.
A quick google search tells me it’s glacial flour with smaller that average grains, cos smaller grains scatter blue light, and the larger grains (closer to the glaciers) scatter more of the green light spectrum. Sounds plausible. 🙂
Yeah, I understand that. This is why Lake Louise is so blue. However, this is MILES away from the glacier. I am a bit shocked that the glacier flour would travel that far. Maybe there’s no lake inbetween for the flour to settle out?
Oh my goodness, the color of the water at Bruarfoss is lovely!!
It’s so stunning! A small site, and a quick visit, but worth it.