This tour is sometime named the "silver circle". We will visit five attractions, first the small town in Borgarnes (1) the Viking Settlement Center which gives you a remarkable perception of the Viking saga which happened in Iceland some 1100 years ago. We will then explore geothermal resources in the upper Borgarfjordur area in West Iceland, the home of the most powerful hot springs in Europe. There we have the largest low-temperature region in Iceland, which consists of five major low-temperature geothermal systems with a total natural discharge of about 450 l/s of boiling water.
First area of interest is Varmaland/Laugaland (2) which is a good example of a small village that was developed around a geothermal site. First, they constructed a swimming pool in 1942 and at the same time a greenhouse farm was established utilizing the hot springs for heating. Gradually, a small village was developed named Varmaland, a story which is interesting to learn about. One may say that Varmaland is a good example for geothermal development in rural areas.
The third (3) stop represents another geothermal site named Deildartunga where we will see the biggest hot spring in Europe and at the core of the hot spring, we will have the option to experience and relax at the Krauma (3) SPA baths and have to have a lunch break and enjoy the cuisine offered at the restaurant while enjoying the spectacular view of the powerful hot spring. The geothermal pipeline from Deildartunga to Akranes is the longest in the world, 64 km in total and has been in use since 1980-1981.
From there we will continue to Iceland's main historic site, the cultural center of Reykholt (4). This was the home of the famous Snorri Sturluson, (1206 to 1241) who was a politician and historian. There we can see the oldest geothermal pool which dates back to the 10th century. From Reykholt we will drive to the beautiful Hraunfossar (5) which is a series of waterfalls. The name basically means Lava Waterfalls. The scenery is spectacular and beautiful where you will see how the water pours out of “Hallmundarhraun” lava wall and cascades down to the river appearing in an enormous length of 900 meters.
