Traveling in Iceland has changed quite a bit in the past decades. It's not just that the number of visitors has increased, but the sites have also changed as we have learned to show greater respect to sites which have immense value due to their history or unieque natural beauty.
Þingvellir National Park offers a great example: Until November 1 1967 the road through Þingvellir ran down Almannagjá gorge. Moving the road which carried tour buses as well as passenger vehicles, out of the gorge helped preserve the beauty of the historic site, but added 4 km (2.5 mi) to the lenght of the road, making the Golden Circle slightly longer.
The original Golden Circle was also significantly closer to Brúarárfoss waterfall, a hidden waterfall located on the road between Laugarvatn village and Geysir geothermal area. The waterfall can only be reached by foot from a parking lot on the main road, but during the first decades of the 20th century the road ran literally right across the waterfall!
The first road on the Golden Circle was constructed in 1907 for the King of Denmark and Iceland, Fredrick VIII. One of the things the King did during his official visit to Iceland was to tour the sights in South Iceland, stopping at the same spots as modern day travelers: Þingvellir, Geysir and Gullfoss. And of course Brúarárfoss.
The wooden bridge has long since disappeared, but the road traveled by the king still remains, although parts of it have been swallowed by the birch forest.
Traveling in Iceland has changed quite a bit in the past decades. It's not just that the number of visitors has increased, but the sites have also changed as we have learned to show greater respect to sites which have immense value due to their history or unieque natural beauty.
Þingvellir National Park offers a great example: Until November 1 1967 the road through Þingvellir ran down Almannagjá gorge. Moving the road which carried tour buses as well as passenger vehicles, out of the gorge helped preserve the beauty of the historic site, but added 4 km (2.5 mi) to the lenght of the road, making the Golden Circle slightly longer.
The original Golden Circle was also significantly closer to Brúarárfoss waterfall, a hidden waterfall located on the road between Laugarvatn village and Geysir geothermal area. The waterfall can only be reached by foot from a parking lot on the main road, but during the first decades of the 20th century the road ran literally right across the waterfall!
The first road on the Golden Circle was constructed in 1907 for the King of Denmark and Iceland, Fredrick VIII. One of the things the King did during his official visit to Iceland was to tour the sights in South Iceland, stopping at the same spots as modern day travelers: Þingvellir, Geysir and Gullfoss. And of course Brúarárfoss.
The wooden bridge has long since disappeared, but the road traveled by the king still remains, although parts of it have been swallowed by the birch forest.
