Walk to Oxara waterfall – In summer 10 mins. hiking in Thingvellir NP, Iceland
If you are in Iceland, of course you go to Thingvellir NP. This is an amazingly beautiful nature reserve where the tectonic plates of the Americas and Eurasia are slowly sliding apart. To make my visit a little more adventurous, I went hiking in Thingvellir to the Oxara waterfall.
Tectonic plates in Thingvellir NP- Iceland
National Park Thingvellir
Þingvellir National Park [ˈθiŋkˌvɛtlɪr̥] is one of Iceland’s 3 national parks. It is located about 50 km east of the capital Reykjavik. It is a park where you will encounter lava fields, waterfalls and streams in an area of 6 km by 40 km, i.e. 9270 hectares.
The tectonic plates of Eurasia and the Americas
A path along that huge wall of Thingvellir – Iceland takes you past some great viewpoints and if you have a full day you can take a huge walk through the park and I started walking right away and enjoying the view when I arrived. When I asked for information after this at the Thingvellir – Iceland information centre at P1.
Was told I could easily walk from car park number 2 to a waterfall. This is still a bit of a walk from 1 and after I was almost at car park 3 during my first walk, I also turned around.
And from P2 you can easily go on to the Golden Circle.
Thingvellir NP – P2 as start of hike to Oxara waterfall
The woman who spoke to me indicated that if I wanted a nice walk I would have to go from car park P2. In summer, this walk took 10 minutes…it was winter of course….dus she could not say how long it would take me. I had also heard her say it to my predecessor, she smiled each time indicating Iceland is different every day….there may have been snow added or gone last night.
So she could not give any guarantee about the condition of the trails.
Well I do like a challenge and she got me curious so I decided to go take path. She also gave me another tip… go take a evening swim at the Secret Lagoon in Fludir and spend the night in that area. It all sounded great and so I made sure to go there!
National Park Thingvellir – Iceland
Hiking in between Eurasia and the Americas
Walking in the canyon to the Waterfall Oxara
So I drove my rented car to parkinglot 2. I was the only one there and saw one path going back into the park. I started to walk this one and soon came by a canyon and if you looked closely you could see, with some fantasy, that there was a path going down. This was the path she meant. I started to walk and the descent was impossible. I think in summer, with no snow, you’ll see a stairs? But now it was a slide down…
I saw some other people hads done that too. So I did too. I sat down on the rigde and let myself slide down. As soon as I could I was on my feet again, I was dressed in jeans…didn’t wanted to get wet!
My hire car, on the other hand, had nice seat heating but still!
When I looked back up I realized I had to go up also! I planned my way already, all the way to the right side was a shorter descent…but more steep. I probably could put my feet up and haul myself up there.
Walking along the high walls
caused by the tectonic plates in Thingvellir NP – Iceland
I was now walking between two high walls. Those tectonic plates had caused this wall…. So I was walking between Europe and America! How peculiar is that? These plates slide about 2 to 2.5 cm apart on a yearly basis. They float on the liquid earth’s core. You can’t really comprehend that, can you? Especially when you then walk on such a thick layer of cold snow!
Iceland, the land of fire and ice…for good reason 🙂
I walked on and came at the next descend. I could do it at the same way I did before. Slide down on the long side and when I came back I should take the shorter steeper side to climb up. Should pull and climbe somehow. As long as I would slide I could pull myself up.
After this second slide the path wasn’t that steep anymore and in the distance I saw some people walking. They came from a sidepath onto this path, probably the path that came from parkinglot 3. When I finally got to the waterfall I saw a small one but it was wonderfully frozen! It had all kinds of formations of ice. The stream I saw earlier came from here. The water runs down quickly and you can hear its roar from afar.
Visit the Oxara Waterfall – Thingvellir NP
After making some pictures and exploring that area I went back. And yes…just as I thought. I could climbe up that shorter but steeper side. I could, after some slides ofcourse, get the rigde and pul myself up and haul me over the rigde. Stand up and walk on, it went great! The second time was even easier and in no time I was back at parkinglot 2.
Just the Way I Like it #adventure
An active challenge on an interesting place of this earth!
In summertime 10 minutes…
Yeah it was kind of 20-25 minutes in wintertime but so much more fun!
Stay near Thingvellir NP?
Close by you have the wonderful ION Adventure Hotel in Nesjavellir with spa and sauna. It is 18 km from Thingvellir NP and a 45-minute drive from Reykjavik. Stay in Iceland’s unique landscape with a chance of the most stunning views at night as it naturally has very little light pollution in the area.
Another option is Hótel Laugarvatn which can be found on the other side of Thingvellir, also about a 15-minute drive away. This hotel also offers single rooms.
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Bathing in a Snowy Landscape, Iceland in Wintertime
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A frozen waterfall, now that is something.
The ice sculptures indeed were something! I was glad I took the hike, but most of all loved the challenge the hike gave me 😉