Thingvellir in Autumn

Thingvellir is a sacred place for us Icelanders. At Thingvellir, the Republic was founded — finally free — on June 17, 1944. It was also here that Althingi, the national parliament, was established in the year 930, fifty-six years after the settlement of Iceland. The world’s oldest national parliament.

Thingvellir is now a national park — the first in the Republic — founded in 1928, and thus approaching its centennial in just under three years. Only 50 km (30 mi) from Reykjavik, it is one of the most visited destinations in the country, not only for its history but also for its unique natural setting.

There is no better time to visit Thingvellir than autumn, when the landscape transforms and dresses in the colors of the season. Icelandic Times / Land & Saga made the trip east to Thingvellir, in wind and rain, along with hundreds — even thousands — of other visitors eager to see the autumn colors before Old Man Winter takes hold.