The Golden Circle is Iceland’s premier tourist route, offering a breathtaking journey through some of the country’s most iconic natural wonders. The route typically starts in Reykjavik and circles through Þingvellir National Park, the Geysir geothermal area, and Gullfoss waterfall. At Þingvellir, visitors can stand where the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates meet and explore the site of the world’s oldest parliament, established in 930 AD.
There is no other place with such a variety of scenery - deserts, mountains, lush tropical vegetation, and valleys filled with thousands of banana trees. Agriculture here offers everything: lime trees, vine-yards, coffee plantations, sugar cane, almond, tomato and banana crops, as well as, pine and palm forests.
Aguas Calientes, officially called Machupicchu Pueblo, sits in a narrow valley below the ruins of Machu Picchu, shaped almost entirely by geography and access.