After this year’s finale of Game of Thrones, we couldn’t leave behind the idea of writing about our top locations in Iceland shown in the show. Iceland has appeared in a series of movies and shows, and who can blame them? The beautiful and diverse landscapes of our country can serve as locations to different themes and displays. Let’s take a look at these locations and why you should have them in your to-visit list.

Other countries like Spain, Croatia, Italy, and Malta were also part of GoT’s filming locations. But we will assure you, the ones in Iceland can be out of this world. If you are coming to Iceland or planning on to, know that most of these locations can be accessed by driving, but during wintertime, you will need a particular car to access most of them. We have one tour that takes you specifically to all the GoT locations. You can check it out here. And other tours that will show you some of the places that appeared in the show.

Kirkjufell

Season 6 & 7

Known in the show as the famous Arrow Mountain, Kirkjufell is one of the most beautiful landscapes, and it is located in western Iceland up North in Snæfellsnes Peninsula. You might have heard that Kirkjufell is the most-photographed mountain in the country, and for GoT lovers is the place you can’t miss out. We had a few glimpses of this mountain during season 6 when the children of the forest created the first White Walker. And in season 7, when they describe it as “the mountain shaped like an arrowhead” when Jon Snow and his crew seek to take a wight (a reanimated corpse raised from death by the White Walkers) to bring to Queen Cersei.

Þingvellir National Park

Season 4

This UNESCO site has been a national park since 1928, and thanks to its unique geological trait, Þingvellir used to be a meeting point for the first parliament serving as a natural amphitheater and perfect for public speaking. Geologically, it is a fascinating place because it is where the European and North-American tectonic plates are drifting apart. You will notice them as being two-cliffs facing to each other. 

GoT showed different places from Þingvellir that you might as well remember pretty good. Almannagjá gorge marks the boundary of the Mid-Atlantic Rift. This rift is the space between the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates. At the end of this space, you will find the beautiful waterfall of Öxaráfoss. In the show, this space was a narrow passage that lead to The Bloody Gate, a fortified gate guarding the entrance to Eyrie. Both Stark sisters pass through the gate in different episodes. This is one of the scenes that you would have to look very good into it because it was digitalized to show other objects and not only characters. 

In the final episode of season 4, one of the most intense fights happens in Nesjvellir, an area in Þingvellir. Brienne of Tarth and Podrick Payne are trying to enter the Bloody Gate and run into Arya and The Hound. Brienne tells Arya to join her, as Catelyn Stark asked, but The Hound refuses to this. They start arguing about it, and Brienne ends up by kicking The Hound off the cliff. 

Grjótagjá

Season 3

Grjótagjá was a massive boom after appearing in GoT. It served as the location where Jon Snow and Ygritte had their heated moment in season 3. Grjótagjá is a small cave in Mývatn and used to be a popular place for bathing. Sadly, after too much volcanic activity, the water in this cave became really hot, and now it is unbearable for humans due to its high temperature. 

A few years ago, this cave was one of the most visited places in Iceland, and after it appeared in GoT, it got way much more attention from tourists. Unfortunately, the cave wasn’t well kept by tourists and ended up being closed to protect it. Hopefully, it will open again soon. 

Glaciers – Vatnajökull and Svínafellsjökull

Season 2 & 7

Vatnajökull is the largest ice cap in Europe, and Svínafellsjökull is an outlet glacier. This last one is known as the Hollywood Glacier because it has appeared in a few numbers of movies. Its unique characteristics like the sharp elevations, vivid blue colors, and the combination of black ash and lines of old volcanic eruptions make it the perfect spot for productions like this one. In GoT, the North of the Wall was represented here. In season 2, Jon Snow and the Night Watch captured Ygritte here, and in season 7, the battle between Jon Snow’s crew and the army of the dead took place in the glacier and its surroundings.