Iceland’s Golden Circle – Bruarhlod Canyon

May 20, 2025

I took advantage of a rare 48 hour layover in Iceland to visit as many spots as possible. My husband and I started with the Golden Circle, and we were not disappointed. Click the links below to read my other top picks

The Golden Circle

The VisitIceland.com website has driving routes that take in 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 Golden Circle has several attractions. We also visited:

• Þingvellir National Park
• Bruarfoss Waterfall
• Geysir – active geothermal geyser fields
• Bruarhlod Canyon – giants anyone?

All the walking routes were short and sweet, so no packs, water or food required.

Bruarhlod Canyon

After visiting the Þingvellir National Park, Bruarfoss Waterfall, and the geysers, we were back on the road. It was getting late, and we only had time for one more attraction. After the hustle and bustle of the previous three sites, we decided to pick something way off the beaten path. So glad we took a chance on this gem.

If you need a bit of a relax, or some time to yourself, this is the ideal spot. There was only one other car in the parking lot when we arrived. We saw a total of three people the entire 45 minutes we were there. The canyon provides lots of large flat rocks to view the rapids and the towering ‘giants’.

The Bridge

The info board at the start provided some historic information. The biggest deal is the bridge. It was originally built in 1907 for the Dutch King Frederick the VII’s royal visit. At the time, it was Iceland’s most expensive road. This bridge and its successor were both washed away in floods, but this 1959 bridge has held strong.

The Canyon

The geology in this area is a bit different. The volcanic rock is hyaloclastite, and was rapidly cooled after eruption. This, along with the unrelenting river forces, carved out this stunning canyon. We only did a short walk, yet the views changed almost every 10 meters.

The water is a gorgeous green colour, and it comes alive in various light.

The Giant and the Giantess

There was no mention of the Giants on the sign board, so we thought we’d go look for them. How hard could they be to find, right? They are giants after all. In this case, luck favours the persistent. We walked along the side of the river, following a fairly good path. This seemed to peter in and out, but we generally followed the bank. At one point, we crossed a barbed-wire fence, but we felt that we were not on the neighbouring farm’s land.

We finally came to a single large monolith in the river – that had to be the Giant. Next to the Giant was an equally large stone, but slightly shorter and connected to the land. Surely this would be the Giantess. It was hard to get a good view of her from the shore, due to the trees and bushes.

We took a million photos, and then retraced our steps back to the start.

Drive Back

While Bruarhlod is not one of the ‘main’ attractions of the Golden Circle, I loved it. It’s quiet, with gorgeous canyon features. I would gladly spend a few hours here, having a picnic lunch or just enjoying the sounds of the river. Very peaceful.

We decided to keep the ‘off the beaten path’ adventure going. We took a smaller gravel road to return to the main highway. We saw lots of farms, Icelandic horses, and hundreds of sheep. It was an idyllic traipse through the countryside. It was time to drive back to Reykjavík, get some sleep, and go adventuring tomorrow.

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 pens

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Alisen