“This is the spring that named all the others. The word 'geyser' comes straight from Iceland's Great Geysir, though today its neighbour Strokkur does the erupting.”
About Geysir Geothermal Area
The Great Geysir has been known since at least the 13th century and was, for centuries, a celebrated natural wonder that could throw water over 100 metres high. Its activity declined over time, worsened by people dropping objects into the vent to provoke eruptions. Strokkur, drilled and cleared in the 20th century, became the dependable performer the valley is now famous for.
What Geysir Geothermal Area actually is
The Geysir geothermal area in the Haukadalur valley is the second stop on the Golden Circle and the place that gave the world the word 'geyser'. The original Great Geysir here is now largely dormant, but its neighbour Strokkur erupts faithfully every few minutes, firing a column of boiling water up to twenty or thirty metres into the air.
The Geysir geothermal area in the Haukadalur valley is the second stop on the Golden Circle and the place that gave the world the word 'geyser'.
The Original Geyser
The Great Geysir, first recorded in the 13th century, is the spring all others are named after; the English word 'geyser' comes directly from it. Over the centuries its eruptions slowed, partly because tourists threw rocks and rubbish into it trying to trigger blasts. Today the reliable show comes from Strokkur a few metres away, which builds a tense blue dome of water before bursting upward without warning.
The Experience
You stand in a steaming field of hot springs and walk to the rope around Strokkur, where a crowd waits with cameras raised. Every five to ten minutes the surface swells into a glassy blue bubble, then explodes upward in a plume of boiling water and steam, often catching the unprepared with spray. The whole valley hisses and steams around you.
Why It Matters
Geysir is the origin point of a word now used worldwide, and one of the founding sights of Iceland's tourism. As the central stop on the Golden Circle, it is most visitors' first encounter with the raw geothermal power that runs beneath the entire country.
Geysir is the origin point of a word now used worldwide, and one of the founding sights of Iceland's tourism.
Why Visit
It is the central, can't-miss stop on the Golden Circle and most people's first taste of Iceland's geothermal power. Wait by Strokkur for the eruption, feel the ground hiss around you, and you have seen the spring that named them all.
✦ Insider Tips
- 1
Watch Strokkur, not the dormant Great Geysir; Strokkur is the one that erupts every few minutes.
- 2
Stand upwind of Strokkur unless you want a soaking when the wind shifts.
- 3
Arrive early or late to dodge the heaviest Golden Circle coach crowds.
