Important Not To Confuse Þingvellir With Þingvellir

Sometimes a good old fashioned map proves more helpful than a GPS device, as has proven the case where Þingvellir is concerned.

To tourists coming to Iceland, Þingvellir, site of the world’s oldest parliament, is a key destination to visit. Despite how easily the place can be found on a common gas station map, tourists sometimes rely on GPS devices to get them there. This, RÚV reports, can prove to be a mistake.

It turns out there is actually more than one place called “Þingvellir” in Iceland, including a Þingvellir in Helgafellssveit, which is a couple hours away from the actual Þingvellir tourists are probably intending to visit.

“I’ve just advised them to take it easy,” Þingvellir farmer Sumarliði Ásgeirsson told reporters about tourists who end up at his humble abode. “They aren’t but two hours away, back where they came from. But it’s natural in an unknown country, often on their first day here.”

If you intend to travel the more famed Þingvellir from Reykjavík, here, courtesy of Google Maps, is the route you need to take. Accept no imitations – or synonyms, as the case may be.