The Jewels of the North - the Extraordinary Diamond Circle in North-Iceland

In North-Iceland you will find many of the jewels in Iceland's nature. And you can join one of the jewel tours of Iceland - the Diamond Circle tour. In South-Iceland we have the Ice Diamond Beach, but on the Diamond Circle tour you will visit the following spectacular sights:

Goðafoss

Mývatn

Námafjall geothermal area

Dettifoss the most powerful waterfall in Iceland

Hljóðaklettar Echo Rocks 

Ásbyrgi, my favourite place in Iceland

Tjörnes 

Húsavík the whale watching capital of North-Iceland

Top photo: Dettifoss waterfall

Goðafoss waterfall

Goðafoss waterfall

Our first stop was at the historical Goðafoss waterfall. Goðafoss waterfall is one of the most beautiful waterfalls in Iceland. It has a drop of 12 meters and a width of 30 meters. It is situated in the 180 kilometres long glacial and spring water river, Skjálfandafljót, Iceland's 4th longest river.

The name of Goðafoss stems from when the conversion to Christianity was made in the year 1000. Þorgeir ljósvetningagoði, the ex-pagan chieftain, right after returning from Alþingi Parliament where the conversion was made, might have thrown his statues of the pagan Norse gods into the waterfall.

And the waterfall got its name Goðafoss - the waterfall of the Gods. I have written a detailed travel-blog about Goðafoss:

The Historical Goðafoss Waterfall in Skjálfandafljót River in North-Iceland

Lake Mývatn

Lake Mývatn

Our second stop was a short photo stop by the lava pillars by Lake Mývatn where we stopped for 5-10 minutes. Lake Mývatn is Iceland's 4th largest lake and was created in a basaltic lava eruption 2,300 years ago.

The surrounding landscape in the Mývatn area is extraordinary. There are so many wonderful lava formations in this area, including the lava pillars by and in Lake Mývatn and Dimmuborgir. And you will see thousands of ducks on the lake and in the Laxá river.

See also my travel-blogs about Mývatn, I must have written more than 10 travel-blogs about this wonderful place:

The amazing Mývatn & Krafla Area in North-Iceland - a Compilation of the wonderful Sights

The wonderful Sights of Mývatn – the Northern Lights Capital of Iceland

Mt. Námafjall and the boiling mud pools

At Hverarönd

We now visited Námafjall and the high-temperature area, Hverarönd. So our third stop was made amongst boiling and bubbling mud pools in a part of Iceland which looks like you have landed on the moon.

This high-temperature geothermal area is often referred to as Hell's Kitchen, as it is boiling and steaming and emitting an overwhelming smell of sulfur caused by the steam and the fumarole gas. 

At the Hverarönd geothermal area by Mt. Námafjall

I have joined a guided tour of this area and written a travel-blog about it:

A wonderful Day of exploring the extraordinary Mývatn Area in North-Iceland

Mývatn in North-Iceland - Part IV - Mt. Námafjall, Krafla & Leirhnjúkur Geothermal Areas

Dettifoss waterfall

Dettifoss waterfall

Our fourth stop was on the western side of the amazing Dettifoss waterfall. There is a 10-minute walk down to the waterfall and our guide joined us and stayed with us for the whole duration of this tour, which I find very reassuring.

I have joined a tour where there was limited guidance, which was no good at all and extremely rushed, so I would always recommend fully guided tours to our foreign visitors.

Dettifoss is Iceland's most powerful waterfall - a massive roaring wall of glacial water. It is 100 meters wide and 45 meters tall!

Dettifoss from the west bank

Dettifoss is situated in the glacial river, Jökulsá á Fjöllum, which is the second-longest river in Iceland. The water in glacial rivers is milky white and greyish - and ice-cold, so let's be careful here.

The glacial river originates in the Vatnajökull glacier, which is Iceland's largest glacier and Europe's largest ice cap by volume.

The massive Dettifoss Waterfall in Jökulsárgljúfur Canyon in North-Iceland

Hljóðaklettar - Echo Rocks

Hljóðaklettar

After visiting Dettifoss we were driven further north Jökulsárgljúfur glacial canyon and made our fifth stop by the extraordinary Hljóðaklettar - Echo Rocks. Here a whole valley of extraordinary rock formation opens up.

These peculiar rock formations, some of which are standing right in the middle of the massive Jökulsá á Fjöllum glacial river, are volcanic plugs that have been eroded by the massive glacial river.

Jökulsá á Fjöllum glacial river runs from Dettifoss and Vatnajökull glacier, leaving only these extraordinary volcanic plugs behind.

Basalt columns in Hljóðaklettar

I always feel like I have entered another world while walking on the trails which lead through the extraordinary rock and basalt column formations of Hljóðaklettar. 

The extraordinary Hljóðaklettar – Echo Rocks in Jökulsárgljúfur Canyon

Ásbyrgi

Botsntjörn pond in Ásbyrgi

We made our sixth stop in my all-time favourite place in Iceland, Ásbyrgi, the Capital City of the Icelandic Elves.

Our guide took us to the most beautiful (in my opinion) part of Ásbyrgi, the serene Botnstjörn pond. There is an easy walk (0.8 km) to the pond from the parking lot.

This pond is what is left of a big waterfall that once cascaded from the cliffs and it is unbelievably peaceful there. I can tell you that in my eyes this pond and the surrounding cliffs are like out of this world and I could stay there for hours, which I have done many times during my camping trips to Ásbyrgi.

Beautiful Botnstjörn pond

Ásbyrgi belongs to Vatnajökull National Park and is 3.5 km in length and 1.1 km across with walls as high as 100 meters. 

After our visit to the pond, there was a half an hour coffee break at the cafè - supermarket at Ásbyrgi.

The beautiful Ásbyrgi Canyon and Botnstjörn Pond in North-East Iceland

Tjörnes peninsula

A puffin at Tjörnes

Our eighth stop was made at Tjörnes peninsula to visit the puffins - but you can spot them here from April until mid-August. I love this beautiful bird with the colourful beak.  And I have noticed that our foreign visitors are also eager to spot a puffin.

The puffin is so popular that it has become the unofficial symbol of Iceland and our tourist shops are called "lundabúðir" or puffin shops as they sell so many variations of the puffins :)

See also my travel-blog: A breathtaking View from Hringsbjarg Cliff on Tjörnes Peninsula in North-Iceland

Húsavík - the Whale Watching Capital of Iceland

Húsavíkurkirkja church

Our ninth and last stop was at my beloved Húsavik, which has been called the whale watching capital of Iceland. Húsavík is the birth town of my grandmother and her 14 siblings.

In Húsavík you will find one of the most beautiful churches in Iceland, if not the most beautiful one, built in 1907.

I have written much more in my travel-blog: Húsavík – the Whale Watching and Ja Ja Ding Dong Capital of Iceland, where I also tell you about the American movie Eurovision Song Contest - the Story of the Fire Saga, which was partly filmed at Húsavík.

Beautiful Akureyri in the sun

The tour ended in Akureyri town, from where we had started, at 7:30 in the morning. A lovely tour, highly recommended if you want to see the highlights of the north in one day. 

I joined this tour again with a different travel company a couple of years later, and have written another travel-blog about the Spectacular Diamond Circle in North Iceland. I have driven the Diamond Circle many times myself through the years and never get tired of it and always look forward to exploring it again.

Check out the available Diamond Circle tours:

The Spectacular Diamond Circle

Diamond Circle Flying Tour in North Iceland

You can also rent a car in Reykjavík or Akureyri and venture into the ruggedly beautiful Jökulsárgljúfur glacial canyon by yourself. Just take into account that road 864 is a very bumpy gravel road.

I created this map to show you the main stops on the Diamond circle

This is a summer visit only - unless you travel with a local guide.

Have a wonderful time exploring the Diamond Circle of Iceland :)