6 Best Sights in Þingvellir, Reykjanes Peninsula and the South Coast (with the Golden Circle)

Most people visit Þingvellir for its historical and geological significance, but in this same place another perspective awaits those who don’t mind trading their walking boots and windbreaker for a dry suit and flippers. Named one of the top three freshwater dives on the planet, at Silfra you can snorkel on the surface of crystal clear water or dive to depths up to 30 meters. Exploring these underwater cracks is like entering another world: the silence is striking—a perfect companion to the vision of muted blues, bejeweled with silver globules of gas mushrooming to the surface from the divers below. An adventure in this underwater wonderland between the continents of North America and Europe leaves you with vivid images but no words. For tours with knowledgeable instructors, book with dive.is, Tröll Expeditions, or Arctic Adventures.

Located at the northern end of Þingvallavatn—Iceland's largest lake—Þingvellir National Park is a powerful symbol of Icelandic heritage. Many national celebrations are held here, and it was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2004. Besides its historical interest, Þingvellir holds a special appeal for naturalists: it is the geologic meeting point of two continents. At Almannagjá, on the west side of the plain, is the easternmost edge of the North American tectonic plate, otherwise submerged in the Atlantic Ocean. Over on the plain's east side, at the Heiðargjá Gorge, you are at the westernmost edge of the Eurasian plate.

A path down into Almannagjá from the top of the gorge overlooking Þingvellir leads straight to the high rock wall of Lögberg (Law Rock), where the person once chosen as guardian of the Icelandic laws would recite them from memory. At the far end of the gorge is the Öxarárfoss (Öxará Waterfall); beautiful, peaceful picnic spots sit just beyond it. Behind Lögberg the river cascades down and forms the forbidding Drekkingarhylur pool.

“The Drowning Pool” is where, for a couple of hundred years, women were drowned—most of them sentenced to death for incest, having children out of wedlock, or other alleged sex-related crimes. Þórdís Halldórsdóttir was the first woman to be drowned in Drekkingarhylur in AD 1590; her crime was perjury, for swearing she was a virgin when indeed she was pregnant.

A path down into Almannagjá from the top of the gorge overlooking Þingvellir leads to the high rock wall of Lögberg (Law Rock). At the time of the Icelandic Commonwealth Period, from AD 930 until 1262, Lögberg was the hub of the annual Alþingi meeting. The Lögsögumaður (law speaker) recited a third of the existing laws, which he had memorized, to the assembled parliament each year. After that recitation, anyone could step forward at Lögberg and give a speech or relay news. When Icelanders took allegiance to the Norwegian king in 1262, the authority of Lögberg disappeared.

Reached by a footbridge, this gorge is better known these days as Peningagjá (Money Gorge) because it's customary to fling a coin into the gorge's ice-cold water and make a wish. Don't even dream about climbing down to wade here—it might look shallow, but it's more than 30 feet deep.

Across the plain from Lögberg stands the church and the gabled manor house of Þingvallabærinn, where the government of Iceland often hosts visiting heads of state. Þingvallakirkja, the quaint church of Þingvellir, is nearby. Free one-hour tours of the area are offered every day in summer, leaving from the church at 10 am. Note that the house of Þingvallabærinn is the official summer residence of the prime minister of Iceland and can only be admired from the outside.