4 of the Coolest 'Game of Thrones' Filming Locations in Iceland

In honor of the eighth and final season of “Game of Thrones,” which is airing now, we compiled a list of some of the most breathtaking shooting locations in Iceland. Much of the show’s appeal is its ability to create an immersive, otherworldly experience for viewers, and Iceland is the main location that showrunners use for its most fantastical scenes, particularly for settings north of the Wall.

For clients craving their own “Game of Thrones” experience, tell them about these four Iceland locations.

Thingvellir National Park
Featuring 35 square miles of mountainous terrain, volcanoes and the country’s largest lake, this park (whose name translates roughly to “assembly field”) was once home to Iceland’s parliament, an open-air assembly that began in 930 A.D. and met annually until 1798. In the 10th episode of the fourth season of “Game of Thrones,” characters Brienne of Tarth and The Hound fight to the (near) death on cliffs near Hengill, an active volcano, and the Nesjavellir geothermal field, the site of a modern-day power plant.

Oxararfoss Waterfall Trail, also located in the park, is where Arya and The Hound visit the Bloody Gate, the entrance to the Vale of Arryn, in the eighth episode of the fourth season. Here, they discover that Lysa Arryn — Arya’s aunt and the person they’ve come all this way to see — has died. Arya’s ironic laughter echoes off the narrow passageway’s craggy walls, created naturally by the meeting of both North American and Eurasian tectonic plates.

Kirkjufell
In the premiere episode of the seventh season, The Hound recalls a prophetic vision where “the dead are marching past … a mountain … like an arrowhead.” 

Eagle-eyed fans will recognize the mountain in his vision as Kirkjufell — Icelandic for “Church Mountain” — after its likeness to a church steeple. Reputed to be the most photographed mountain in Iceland, the 1,519-foot-tall mountain is the backdrop of more than one “Game of Thrones” episode.

During the fifth episode of the sixth season, Bran Stark’s vision of the Children of the Forest creating the first White Walker also depicts Kirkjufell and its surrounding landscape swathed in springtime greenery.

If choosing to hike the mountain, clients should hire an expert guide, as trails are steep and treacherous. Clients may also choose to discover Kirkjufell in the winter when the landscape is covered in snow, as The Hound sees for himself in sixth episode of the seventh season.

Dyrholaey
About a two-and-a-half-hour drive from the capital of Reykjavik, Dyrholaey — also known as “Cape Portland”— is famous for “the arch with the hole,” which refers to a promontory of two arches that face south into the sea.

In the fifth episode of the seventh season, Jon Snow arrives in Eastwatch on the black-sand beaches characteristic of the south coast of Iceland. In the show, the Wall was edited over the arches, which were used as a template.

Hverir
In the first episode of the third season, Samwell Tarly struggles to make it back to his men through the blinding snow north of the Wall.

This “blizzard” is actually heavy steam from the geothermal vents of the Namafjall geothermal area. Hverir is the sulfurous geothermal pool at the foot of Namafjall Mountain. The strong fumes and expansive landscapes will give clients a taste of Sam’s plight.