"The ORIGINAL Geysir" Top 5 Page for this destination Geysir by acemj

Geysir Travel Guide: 62 reviews and 257 photos

The sleeping giant, The Great Geysir - Geysir

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 over the world from Iceland to Peru to the United States to Kenya. In fact, there are around 800-1000 geysers worldwide (500 of them are in Yellowstone National Park in the USA), but the true origin of the word is here in the Southwest of Iceland in a place called Haukadalur and comes from one mighty hole in the ground: The Great Geysir.

The Great Geysir first erupted in the 14th century and went through periods of intermittent activity. It was dormant for much of the 20th century, but was reawakened by an earthquake in 2000 and was erupting up to eight times per day for awhile, but has since become decreasingly active. It now only erupts around once or twice a week.

Strokkur - the most reliable geysir

I visited the geysers as part of the Golden Circle Tour that included Gulfoss and Þingvellir National Park, which made it easily accessible from Reykjavik. There is a hotel on site here, along with a visitor's center and a couple of restaurants and gift shops, but I can't imagine visiting this barren, albeit very interesting, landscape for more than a few hours.

Little Geysir

You are unlikely to see the Great Geysir erupt, since its activity is down to about once or twice a week these days, but the smaller Strokkur is very reliable shooting water 15-20 meters into the air every seven or eight minutes. This is where the crowds will gather waiting for the show.

Last visit to Geysir: Apr 2007
Intro Updated Jun 3, 2007
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Reviews (6)

Bus Transportation (1)

Most visitors who come here arrive via tour buses like this one. I wanted to try to see the sights of the Golden Circle... more travel advice

Why does water fly toward the sky? - Geysir

Why does water fly toward the sky? Favorites (1)

Geysers are caused by surface water seeping down through the ground until it meets rock that is heated by magma beneath... more travel advice

Gift Shop Shopping (1)

Across the street from the geyser field, you'll find a hotel with a gift shop as well as the Geysisstofa... more travel advice

Look, don't touch Warnings and Dangers (1)

The geyser fields here are strewn with steaming earth, streams, trickles and pools of water. Some of the water is hot.... more travel advice

Things to Do (2)
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Comments (5)

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agapotravel Nov 24, 2007 at 5:38 PM

I enjoyed your very informative geysir page. I so wanted to get a shot of the "bubble" but I missed it every time. :-)
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Dabs Jun 10, 2007 at 7:26 PM

Yep, I was one of those people standing around trying to time the photos of the geyser and that was pre digital so I had no idea what I had until I got home! We stood there for a looooong time, maybe that's why I missed the gift shop ha ha
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sim1 Jun 10, 2007 at 8:59 AM

Iceland seems like such a fascinating country, although as you say, expensive to tour around on your own. I do hope to visit it some day! Great explanation of how the geysers work! You learned my lazy brain cells something new today ;-)
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Bwana_Brown Jun 4, 2007 at 6:01 PM

Brilliant photos of the eruptions and thanks for explaining why it all happens! It looks like a bit of a dangerous place with scalding hot water flying around, but I guess that is half the excitement of the experience!!
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b1bob Jun 3, 2007 at 7:36 AM

Nice job. These are rather like the geysers I encountered in New Zealand.