Iceland was the land Beyond the Wall in Game of Thrones. The best filming locations are Þingvellir and Þórufoss near Reykjavík, the South Coast from Skógafoss to Svínafellsjökull, the lava fields around Mývatn in the north, and Kirkjufell on Snæfellsnes. Most are easy to reach on a day tour or a self-drive trip, and a few need a 4×4 or a guide.
How Iceland entered the world of Game of Thrones
Iceland has long been a film location. Batman Begins, Interstellar and Star Wars all used its landscapes, and the low northern light gives camera crews long hours of soft, golden light to work with.
The first season of Game of Thrones was made without Iceland. With a bigger budget, the makers came here for Season 2, to film the frozen North where Jon Snow and the Night's Watch meet the wildlings. They came back for later seasons, and Iceland also stood in for the Vale, the Riverlands and even parts of Essos.
Glaciers, lava fields, black beaches and steaming ground gave the crews real snow, ice and wild country, so less had to be built or added by computer. About a tenth of the country is under glaciers, and the Season 2 scenes were shot on the ice in midwinter, in fresh snow and real cold. Many of the places are well-known sights anyway, so a Game of Thrones trip is also a good first trip to Iceland.
The series ended in 2019, but the places are all still here. Below are the locations grouped by region, with the scene each one is known for and how to visit.
Þingvellir and the Golden Circle area
Þingvellir National Park is the easiest Game of Thrones location to visit from Reykjavík, and it is on the Golden Circle. In Season 4 the Almannagjá gorge was the path to the Bloody Gate and the Eyrie, where Arya and the Hound arrive after Lysa Arryn's death. Sansa and Littlefinger take the same narrow pass to reach her aunt. The park was also used for wildling scenes in Season 4, when Tormund and Ygritte meet the cannibal Thenns. Öxarárfoss, a short walk from the gorge, also appears. The park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and it is where the tectonic plates of North America and Eurasia pull apart. Our Golden Circle private tour goes at your own pace, so you can take your time in the gorge.
The great fight between Brienne and the Hound at the end of Season 4 was filmed in the Hengill area near Nesjavellir, south of Lake Þingvallavatn. In the show this is the Vale, where Brienne and Podrick meet Arya and the Hound on the road to the Bloody Gate. The fight was shot at several spots in the area and none of them is marked. It is open hiking country with steaming vents, reached from Route 435 or from Hveragerði.
Þórufoss is a small waterfall just off Route 48, between Þingvellir and Hvalfjörður, and under an hour from Reykjavík. In Season 4, Episode 6, it was the countryside near Meereen in Essos: a goatherd's boy throws stones into the river, and Drogon swoops down and burns the flock beside the falls. It is a nice twist that cold Iceland played a hot continent; the summer moss and bare volcanic rock made it work. If you are driving the Golden Circle, turn onto Route 48 before you reach Þingvellir. There is a small free parking area and a short walk to the viewpoint.
For quieter spots on the same route, see our guide to the secret locations of the Golden Circle.
Þjórsárdalur valley: Olly's village and Gjáin
Þjóðveldisbærinn Stöng is a reconstructed Viking-age farm in Þjórsárdalur, built with turf walls and wooden gables. In Season 4 it was the village where the wildlings, Ygritte among them, and the Thenns attack and kill Olly's parents. The turf roofs and timber needed almost no dressing to pass for a village in the North. The farm is open every day from 1 May to 15 October, 10:00 to 17:30. Entry is 2,500 ISK for adults, 500 ISK for children aged 6–12 and free for under-6s.
Gjáin, a small green valley with little waterfalls, is where Arya and the Hound rest in Season 4. It is a walk of 15 to 30 minutes from the ruins of the original Stöng farm, which are about 7 kilometres further up the valley from the rebuilt farm, on a rough gravel road. Þjórsárdalur is worth the drive even without the show: it has birch woods, hot springs and Háifoss, one of Iceland's tallest waterfalls. The roads into the upper valley are gravel and partly F-roads, open in summer only.
The South Coast
The South Coast has more Game of Thrones locations than any other region, and most are right beside the Ring Road. The same road carries on east to Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon and Diamond Beach, which were not in the show but are too close to skip. A South Coast tour covers several in one day, and our Private South Coast Tour does it with your own guide.
- Skógafoss: in the first episode of Season 8, Jon and Daenerys fly on the dragons and land beside a waterfall. The shot is based on Skógafoss, 60 metres high and a few minutes' walk from the car park.
- Fjaðrárgljúfur: the dragons fly over this winding moss-green canyon in the same Season 8 episode. Stay on the marked path along the rim, as the moss is fragile.
- Reynisfjara: the black beach and the Reynisdrangar sea stacks near Vík appear briefly as the shore at Eastwatch-by-the-Sea, the Night's Watch castle, in Season 7. This is Iceland's most dangerous beach because of sneaker waves. Keep well back from the water and never turn your back on the sea.
- Höfðabrekkuheiði and Mýrdalsjökull: the hills and glacier east of Vík were the Frostfangs and the Fist of the First Men in Season 2.
- Svínafellsjökull: this outlet glacier of Vatnajökull, next to Skaftafell, was used for Beyond the Wall scenes in Season 2, including Jon Snow's capture of Ygritte. It has also been in Batman Begins and Interstellar, which earned it the nickname the Hollywood Glacier. The blue ice is streaked with black ash from old eruptions, which is a large part of its look on screen. A short path leads to a viewpoint over the ice.
Þórsmörk and the glaciers: catching a wight
In Season 7 Jon Snow leads a small band north of the Wall to catch a wight. Much of that episode was filmed in South Iceland. Stakkholtsgjá, a narrow mossy gorge near Þórsmörk, is one location. Þórsmörk is also where the Laugavegur trail ends. Gígjökull, an outlet glacier of Eyjafjallajökull on the road to Þórsmörk, is another. Eyjafjallajökull is the volcano that stopped air traffic across Europe in 2010. Its name proved so hard to say that foreign reporters took to calling it E15, for the E and the fifteen letters after it.
The road into Þórsmörk crosses several unbridged rivers. Standard rental cars are not allowed and insurance does not cover river damage. Take a highland bus, a super jeep tour or one of our Þórsmörk tours. The Þórsmörk Private Tour goes in by super jeep and includes the Gígjökull area. Our guide to hiking in Þórsmörk has walks in the area.
Walking on a glacier is the best way to see the icy world of the show up close, but only with a certified guide. See our glacier hiking tours and the top 10 glacier hikes.
Lake Mývatn: the wildling lands
Most of the Season 3 wildling scenes were filmed around Lake Mývatn in North Iceland, about an hour and a quarter's drive east of Akureyri. Filming took place in winter, so the snow on screen is real. Without a car, our Lake Mývatn day tour from Akureyri is the simplest way to get there.
- Grjótagjá: the small lava cave with a blue hot-water pool where Jon Snow and Ygritte share their famous scene in Season 3. The waterfall in the scene was added by computer. Local people used to bathe here. Bathing is no longer allowed. The landowners stopped it after visitors damaged and littered the cave, and the water can be dangerously hot. You can usually still look at the pool from the entrance, but the cave is on private land and the landowners have closed it at times.
- Dimmuborgir: the twisted lava towers of the 'Dark Castles' were Mance Rayder's wildling camp, where Jon Snow meets the King-beyond-the-Wall and persuades the wildlings that he has left the Night's Watch. Marked trails of different lengths start at the car park, which has a café and toilets.
- Höfði: the lava outcrops on the lakeshore were used for wide shots of the wildling camp.
- Hverir at Námafjall: the steaming mud pots and fumaroles stood in for a blizzard as Sam Tarly stumbles through the snow at the start of Season 3. Stay on the paths, as the ground is hot.
Kirkjufell: the Arrowhead mountain
Kirkjufell, on the north side of the Snæfellsnes peninsula by Grundarfjörður, is the mountain shaped like an arrowhead, and one of the most photographed mountains in Iceland. Snæfellsnes is often called Iceland in miniature, because it packs a glacier, lava fields, black beaches and fishing villages into one peninsula. It appears in the Hound's visions in the fire in Season 6 and again in Season 7 on the wight hunt beyond the Wall. The actors did not film in front of the mountain itself; it was filmed in both summer and winter and added as a backdrop.
The classic view is from the car park by Kirkjufellsfoss waterfall, a few minutes' walk away. Don't try to climb Kirkjufell without a local guide: the route is steep and has had fatal accidents, and the landowners close it to climbers in winter. See our Snæfellsnes tours.
Game of Thrones scenes filmed in Iceland, season by season
A quick list if you want to match a scene to a place.
- Season 2: the Frostfangs and the Fist of the First Men at Höfðabrekkuheiði and Mýrdalsjökull; Jon Snow and Ygritte on Svínafellsjökull.
- Season 3: Mance Rayder's camp at Dimmuborgir, the cave at Grjótagjá, Sam in the blizzard at Hverir.
- Season 4: the road to the Eyrie at Þingvellir, Brienne against the Hound near Nesjavellir, Drogon at Þórufoss, Olly's village at Stöng, Arya and the Hound at Gjáin.
- Season 6: Kirkjufell in the Hound's vision in the flames.
- Season 7: the wight hunt at Stakkholtsgjá, Gígjökull and Kirkjufell; Eastwatch at Reynisfjara.
- Season 8: the dragon flight over Fjaðrárgljúfur and the landing at Skógafoss.
Planning a Game of Thrones tour of Iceland
You can see a lot in a few days. Day one: Þingvellir and Þórufoss. Day two: the South Coast from Skógafoss to Reynisfjara. With more time, continue east to Fjaðrárgljúfur and Svínafellsjökull, or head north to Mývatn and west to Kirkjufell on a longer self-drive or Ring Road tour, such as our 6 Day Iceland Ring Road Tour.
Some companies also run themed Game of Thrones day tours. From Reykjavík they usually take around eight hours and centre on Þingvellir and the path to the Eyrie, and some go on to the rebuilt farm in Þjórsárdalur. In the north, day tours from Akureyri visit the Mývatn locations and often finish with a soak in Earth Lagoon Mývatn, the former Mývatn Nature Baths.
Many sights now charge a parking fee, usually paid by app or at a machine, so allow a little for this. Summer is easiest for the Þjórsárdalur valley, Gjáin and Þórsmörk. Winter looks more like the show, with snow on the lava and ice on the glaciers, but days are short and roads can close. Check road.is and safetravel.is before driving.
If you would rather not drive, a private tour lets you choose the filming locations you care about most. Cruise passengers can reach Mývatn from Akureyri on our Akureyri shore excursions.
Tours to book
If you want to see the filming locations without planning every leg yourself, these are good options.
- Þórsmörk Private Tour: a private super jeep day to the wight-hunt country, with river crossings and the Gígjökull area.
- Private South Coast Tour: Skógafoss, Reynisfjara and the Eastwatch coast with your own guide.
- 6 Day Iceland Ring Road Tour: a guided summer trip around the country that takes in Þingvellir, Skógafoss, Reynisfjara and Lake Mývatn.
Questions people ask
Where was Game of Thrones filmed in Iceland?
Mainly at Þingvellir, Þórufoss, Þjórsárdalur, the South Coast (Skógafoss, Reynisfjara, Fjaðrárgljúfur, Svínafellsjökull), Þórsmörk, Lake Mývatn (Grjótagjá, Dimmuborgir, Hverir) and Kirkjufell on Snæfellsnes.
Can you bathe in the Game of Thrones cave at Grjótagjá?
No. The landowners have stopped bathing because of damage and litter, and the water can be too hot. You can still look at the pool from the cave entrance.
Which Game of Thrones locations can I see on a day trip from Reykjavík?
Þingvellir and Þórufoss on a Golden Circle day, or Skógafoss and Reynisfjara on a South Coast day. Þórsmörk is also possible as a day trip by super jeep or highland bus.
Which seasons of Game of Thrones were filmed in Iceland?
Iceland was used from Season 2 onwards, with major scenes in Seasons 2, 3, 4 and 7 and dragon flight scenes in Season 8.
Where is the Jon Snow and Ygritte cave in Iceland?
It is Grjótagjá, a small lava cave with a hot pool near Lake Mývatn in North Iceland, about an hour and a half's drive east of Akureyri. You can look in from the entrance, but bathing is not allowed.
What is the Arrowhead mountain from Game of Thrones?
Kirkjufell, by Grundarfjörður on the Snæfellsnes peninsula. It appears in Seasons 6 and 7. The actors did not film there; the mountain was added as a backdrop.
