Thingvellir National Park

If ever there is a site meant for ultimate fulfillment in all of Iceland, it is Thingvellir National Park. It is home to partially submerged rifts, otherworldly ravines, and history so thrilling that it will leave you in astonishment. Like the rest of the country, forces of nature are in full motion here. Life springs wherever you take a step. Right at the intersection of two tectonic plates, Thingvellir boasts the only rift separating two continental plates that is visible. Yet, it is only one of the things that make the site so valuable for humanity. Beyond its geographical renown, a gilded history radiates through one of the oldest sites in the area.

Thingvellir’s historic significance dates back to the first Viking settlements on the island. To be precise, 930 AD marks the year when an assembly of the clans first convened and laid the foundation for modern civilization. The historic value of the park needs no explanation. Long before the notion of democracy sprouted in the world, the Nordic people chose this dramatic geography for the first practices of a parliament. The park became a World Heritage Site in 2004 and has been a pilgrimage for travelers on the Golden Circle ever since.

Today, the park features one of the world’s top five dive sites, Oxara waterfall, and the majestic Silfra Gorge. You can wander on the geological border of the North American and Eurasian continents and look for wildlife near the water on your trip to Thingvellir National Park.