- Join for free
- Sign In
Helpfulness
Geysir itself stopped erupting in 1915, but it must have been a sight to see as it went about 60 metres into the air, but Strokkur, which is now spouting with a regular interval, is much smaller. Icelanders tried reviving Geysir by throwing soap into it and forced an eruption and from time to time it erupted. Then on 17th of June 2000 (our National day) we had a big earthquake (6,3 on Richter) and Geysir started erupting again, but much less frequently than Strokkur. But through the centuries Geysir has had its ups and downs.
Never ever go within the boundaries of Geysir itself as it erupts about 3-5 times per day about 10 metres in the air. At least that is what it did after the earthquake, I don´t have exact info about if it is still doing it. Before it erupts thuds can be heard. I have seen people walking straight up to Geysir and looking into it!! This is extremely dangerous and in December 2008 a British couple was in grave danger and had to run away from Geysir as it was erupting. By chance an Icelandic tourist-guide was passing by and could warn them in the nick of time. I have visited the Geysir area many many times and never seen Geysir spout.
Updated Oct 21, 2011
Helpfulness
There are several small hot springs in the Geysir area, especially in the south end of the Geysir area. One of them is called Little Geysir (litli Geysir) and another one Smiður (the smith). Little Geysir is a small hole with bubbling water and Smiður is also always churning and bubbling. Sometimes soap is added to Smiður and it will spout up to 7 meters.
Soap has been frequently used to force the hot springs to spout - cannot be very environmently friendly though?
Updated Oct 12, 2011
Helpfulness
Blesi hot spring is one of the hot springs on the Geysir area. It doesn´t spout at the moment, I have actually never seen it spout, but I love the absolutely fabulous azure colour of this hot spring. You can see the same azure colour at The Blue lagoon as it comes from dissolved silica. And I have seen this colour as well at Leirhnjúkar at Mývatn. Blesi (which is a common name for a horse here in Iceland) actually consists of 2 hot springs. And the temperature in Blesi is ca 40 degrees C, so in the early days it was used for bathing and washing of clothes.
What I have seen and irritates me a lot is that people (mostly my countrymen) throw coins into the hot spring... what is that about? By the entrance of the Geysir area people are urged not to leave garbage in this area and not to throw coins into the hot springs! I would say that it is common sense not to do this... There is one fissure at Þingvellir national park where it is allowed to throw coins in and make a wish "Peningagjá", but that doesn´t mean that it can be done where ever.
Updated Oct 12, 2011
Helpfulness
For an excellent view of the Geysir area a short hike up Mt. Laugafell is recommended. Start from Konungshver hot spring and you will pass a panorama disk - and cross a fence with steps. It is not a difficult hike and from up there is an excellent view.
Not everybody hikes up on this hill, but a reasonable amount of tourists go there. On the other side of the hill is a valley.
Updated Oct 12, 2011
Helpfulness
Above the hotel at Geysir there is a troll - not an elf, as they look like humans - but a big troll :)
We Icelanders not only believe in the existance of elves, we also believe in trolls. But that is a different kind of belief. Because we know that the elves are alive now, but the trolls we know of are all petrified as they didn't make it home before sunrise. So they are kind of in the past, Icelanders don't think they will encounter a big troll while travelling in Iceland - just the petrified ones. But there are so many tales in Iceland of encounters with the trolls - maybe they are still alive? And let´s not forget that they eat humans!
So if you want a photo with a troll this is the place. JumpingNorman got his photo taken with the troll when he visited Iceland and so did I ;) And he merged our photos together - I love it, thanks Norman :)
Updated Oct 12, 2011
Helpfulness
One of the hot springs in the Geysir area is called Konungshver or The King´s hot spring or The Royal hot spring. It is in the northwest end of the Geysir area above Geysir. It is named after the Danish king Christian IX, who visited Geysir in 1874 and was back then the king of Iceland.
Its shaft is closed by stones which block it, so it doesn´t spout.
Updated Oct 9, 2011
This is a geyser that goes off every seven minutes or so, and you can be really close. Therefore, you can closely observe all of the stages of an eruption. Also, it generally is not surrounded by "Old Faithful" like crowds. It is not a small geyser which also makes it pleasant to view and photograph.
Updated May 7, 2011
Helpfulness
Strokkur (meaning The Churn in Icelandic) is a geysir in the Haukadalur valley in southern Iceland. It is not as time-reliable as Old Faithful, but it does erupt about every 3 to 10 minutes. On the site, there is a sovenir shop, restaurant, campground and gas station.
Updated Apr 4, 2011
Phone: +(354) - 480 6800
Helpfulness
Close to Geysir there is Gullfoss. Up here you can find the most famous waterfall of Iceland. It falls down 32 meter. It is so massive. And reall spectacular to see. When you are walking to it, you can have showers from the waterfall. You can make great pictures of the waterfall when the sun is shining.
Written Feb 16, 2008
Helpfulness
When you are in Geysir, you can see the geysers (hot springs). These are so massive!! So many power is coming up. It can take some time when the water is coming up. But when it does... So great to see this.
Written Feb 16, 2008
Website: www.geysircenter.com
Sponsored Links
Reviews and photos of Geysir attractions posted by real travelers and locals. The best tips for Geysir sightseeing.
When you are in Geysir, you can see the geysers (hot springs). These are so massive!! So many power is coming up. It can take some time when the water is coming...
Our members can help!
1
Our first stop in Iceland was the area around Geysir, the original geothermal fountain which gave its name to other phenomena of its kind around the world. Records appear to indicate this area became...
2
The word Geysir derives from the Icelandic very "to gush" and is the only Icelandic word to have made it into the English language (with the minor spelling change of "geyser"). There are geysers all...
3
One of the most famous attractions of Iceland, Geysir is a must for people who wants to visit Iceland. The Big Gaysir start spurting in 14th century and it end at the begining of 20th century, but...
4
17 September 2007 After checking out the hotel we went to Geysir. We took route 47, 1 and 35 to Geysir. It took us a couple of hours to get there. When we arrived in Geysir we checked into our hotel....
5
This is Geysir-Strokkur in winter time and travelogues with more picture. See a tip on Geysir-Strokkur under Iceland Strokkur is currently the most active spring in Iceland, not Geysir. The first...
Build your own Geysir page
