Northern Lights Forecast for Thingvellir

Northern Lights in Thingvellir

Þingvellir National Park lies in a rift valley about 45 km north-east of Reykjavík, a drive of 45 minutes to an hour. The valley floor sits on the boundary between the North American and Eurasian plates, and there is no village in it, just a visitor center, a small church and campgrounds. The capital is out of sight to the west-south-west behind the Mosfellsheiði heath.

Hakið, Lögberg and the church by the lake

• Hakið: the viewing platform beside the visitor center, at the upper end of Almannagjá, the largest fault in the park. It looks out over the valley floor toward the lake, and parking lot P1 is right there.
• Almannagjá and Lögberg: a path runs down from Hakið into the gorge to Lögberg, the Law Rock, where the Alþingi met from about 930 until 1798. Expect ice on the path in winter.
• Þingvellir Church and Öxarárfoss: the church, consecrated in 1859, stands inside the old assembly site near the lake, with parking at P5 (Valhöll). Öxarárfoss, where the Öxará river drops into Almannagjá and which is often iced over in winter, is a short walk from P2.

Entry to the park is free, but parking at P1, P2 and P5 is paid per vehicle, and one payment covers all three for the day. Pay at the machines or online; cameras read number plates at Hakið.

Þingvallavatn to the south, Skjaldbreiður to the north

Þingvallavatn, the largest natural lake in Iceland at 84 km², lies south of the assembly site, so any photo with the water in it faces south. To the north and north-east the valley rises toward Ármannsfell (764 m) and the broad shield volcano Skjaldbreiður (about 1,060 m), and Almannagjá runs along the western side. Silfra, a fissure on the lake’s northern shore, is a snorkeling and diving site where the water stays at 2 to 4°C.

Over Mosfellsheiði and Lyngdalsheiði

The usual way in from Reykjavík is the Ring Road to Mosfellsbær, then Þingvallavegur over Mosfellsheiði. Both heaths into the park, Mosfellsheiði from the west and Lyngdalsheiði from the east, are open to the wind, and snow can be heavy. Vegagerðin posts their conditions at road.is, and the cloud map at vedur.is shows whether the valley is clear before you leave the city. Kaldidalur, the highland road that starts just north of the park, is a summer road and not an option in the aurora season.

The Alþingi and the 1930 national park

The national park was founded in 1930, the thousandth anniversary of the Alþingi, and became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2004. The Heart of Iceland exhibition in the visitor center covers both the history and the geology.