Faroe Islands
The Faroe Islands (Føroyar in Faroese) are an isolated archipelago located in the northern Atlantic Ocean, in the triangle between Norway, Iceland and Scotland. Due to this location, the eighteen islands have a maritime climate and the weather is determined by the northern Gulf Stream: it’s always windy and it can rain every day. In summer, the average temperature does not exceed eleven degrees and the weather conditions can change quickly. It’s not without reason that there’s a saying in the Faroe Islands: “If you don’t like the weather, wait for five minutes.” But the impressive landscape makes up for all this.
Itinerary
Vágar – Tórshavn – Streymoy – Eysturoy – Bordoy – Vidoy
The Faroe Islands cover only 1,399 square kilometers of land, but also 247,000 square kilometers of water. The archipelago is approximately 113 kilometres from north to south and 75 kilometres from east to west, and nowhere on the islands are you more than five kilometres from the ocean. The eighteen islands are home to over 54,000 inhabitants and around 80,000 sheep. The inhabitants of the Faroe Islands largely depend on fishing for their livelihood.
The first people to settle on the Faroe Islands were Vikings, who came from Scandinavia and Viking-inhabited Ireland from the ninth century. From 1035 the islands were part of the Kingdom of Norway, but after the merger of Norway and Denmark in 1380, Denmark’s influence on the islands increased and in the nineteenth century the Faroe Islands came completely under Danish rule.
Since the Faroese Home Rule Act of 1848, the Faroe Islands have been a ‘self-governing community within the Kingdom of Denmark.’ The Faroe Islands are not an independent country, but they do have their own flag, currency, parliament and government. The Faroes decide on most matters themselves, but foreign policy, defence and police are determined by Denmark. Oddly enough, the Faroe Islands, unlike Denmark, are not a member of the European Union, but they are part of the Schengen zone.
Vágar
On Monday morning I fly, with a transfer at Copenhagen airport, to Vága airport on the island of Vágar. As befits a small archipelago, Vága airport is a super small airport; within a few minutes I am outside and a little later I receive the key to my rental car.
Vágar is the third largest island of the Faroe Islands after Streymoy and Eysturoy and on my first day it turns out to be an excellent place to get to know the Faroes. Less than a ten-minute drive from the airport, at the end of Vágafjørdur, lies the village of Midvágur. This is where the Trælanípa trail starts. I park the car, pay 200 kroner entrance fee and at half past one I start the walk. It is dry, I even see some sun through the clouds now and then, and with a temperature of around 10 degrees it’s fine walking weather.
The trail runs along a large lake called both Leitisvatn and Sørvágsvatn. It’s a beautiful walk, with a view of the lake all the time, surrounded by green slopes. The path gradually goes up and down and every now and then you have to step over small streams. What immediately strikes you when you arrive on the Faroe islands is that there are no trees. Zero. The only trees you see are in gardens and parks and have been flown in for that purpose. What does grow a lot on the islands is grass, lots of grass.
After an hour of walking, the impressive rock face Trælanípa suddenly appears. The story goes that in the old days slaves were thrown from this 142-meter high cliff when they were no longer productive. Anyway, it is a beautiful place, from the edge of the cliff you look down into the depths, where the ocean crashes against the rocks. You can also see the islands of Koltur, Hestur, Sandoy and the southern tip of Streymoy from here. Then I walk a bit further up, to the top of the cliff. If you look back here, a kind of optical illusion occurs: from the top of Trælanípa you see the steep rocks rising up from the sea, with the Sørvágsvatn lake above them, making the lake seem to float above the sea. It’s a beautiful panorama and in my opinion one of the most beautiful views on the Faroe Islands.
A not really recognizable trail runs down the cliff on the other side. It takes a bit of searching and scrambling over rocks, but eventually you see the Bøsdalafossur waterfall, where the water from the lake crashes over the basalt rocks into the ocean.
After more than two hours of walking I am back at the car. I then drive to Bøur, a small village, beautifully situated on the Sørvagsfjørdur. The village has only fifty inhabitants and consists of wooden houses with grass on the roofs (which you see a lot on the Faroe Islands). The village is situated against a mountain slope with a view over the fjord. Further on you can also see the islands of Mykines, Timdhólmur and Gáshólmur. In between are the Drangarnir sea stacks, free-standing rock formations in the sea that were formed by erosion.
From Bøur it’s only a few minutes drive to the village of Gásaladur (population: twelve). Until 2006, Gásaladur was not accessible by road. Now a narrow single-lane tunnel leads to the photogenic village with colorful houses. At Gásaladur you will also find the photogenic Múlafossur waterfall. The 150-metre high waterfall plunges from the coastal cliff into the ocean, with the wooden houses of Gásaladur and the 722-metre high Árnafjall in the background. It’s a beautiful view. Here too, you have a view from the cliffs towards Mykines.
Towards the end of the afternoon I drive through the Vágar tunnel, which connects the island of Vágar with the neighbouring Streymoy, to Tórshavn, the capital of the Faroe Islands, where I spend the night.
Tórshavn
The next morning I wake up early. Due to the northern location of the Faroe Islands, the sun doesn’t set here until a quarter past eleven in the evening in June and rises again at half past three in the morning. In the meantime, it doesn’t really get dark.
I start my day by exploring Tórshavn. First, I pass Skansin Fort. This compact fortress was built around 1580 to protect Tórshavn from pirate attacks, and later from the French (who destroyed the fortress in 1677) and the British (in 1808). The fortress isn’t much, but the red and white lighthouse built on top of it offers a nice view of Tórshavn.
Tórshavn means Thor’s Harbour, and is located on the spot where, from 900 onwards, the Vikings met annually in the Ting, together with Thingvellir in Iceland the oldest parliament in the world. Although Tórshavn is the capital of the Faroe Islands, it’s very small-scale with around 21,000 inhabitants. It feels like a village and is somewhat reminiscent of Reykjavik, that other small northern capital.
Tórshavn is located on the waterfront of Nólsoyarfjørdur, around a harbour where fishing boats bob in the clear water. On the quay are old warehouses painted in different colours. On the east side of the harbour is the neighbourhood of Reyni. This is the oldest part of Tórshavn, with small black-painted wooden houses with grass on the roofs, along narrow streets and alleys. Most of the houses date from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
Adjacent to Reyni is Tinganes, a small peninsula, where the Vikings established their Ting and where the Faroese government and government agencies are still located today. Unlike many Western countries, these are not housed in well-secured modern buildings, but in former warehouses, wooden buildings painted red and black on narrow cobbled streets, where you can walk freely.
The Skansapakkhúsid, at the end of the peninsula, is a former warehouse, built in 1749. The wooden building stands on a foundation of stones and is now the office of the Prime Minister of the Faroe Islands. The surrounding buildings, which go by names such as Salurin, Vektarbúdin, Sjóbúdin and Bakkapakkhúsid also house Faroese government offices. The oldest buildings on Tinganes are Leigubúdin and Munkastovan; they date from the Middle Ages and survived a great fire that largely destroyed Tinganes in 1673. If you walk around the Skansapakkhúsid, you can see a sundial on the rocks. This was probably etched into the rock by the Vikings in the tenth century.
Back at the harbour I walk along the Vágsbotnur and then to Váglid, a small square, where among other things the Jacobsens bookshop is located. The shop is in a red painted wooden building with a grass roof, built in 1860 and initially a school building. At Váglid is also Rádhúsid, the town hall of Tórshavn. This building, also built in 1894, started as a school, since 1955 it has served as the town hall. A stone’s throw away is the building of the Løgting, the parliament building of the Faroe Islands and one of the smallest parliament buildings in the world.
Streymoy
After exploring Tórshavn, I pick up my car and drive to Vestmanna, which takes just over half an hour. Route 10 north of Tórshavn runs over a plateau three hundred metres above sea level, with great views of Kaldbaksfjørdur and Kollafjørdur.
Vestmanna (population about 1,250) is a small fishing village on the west coast of Streymoy, the largest island in the archipelago. Vestmanna is the base for boat trips to Vestmannabjørgini, the Vestmanna Sea Cliffs. In just under two hours we sail along the impressive cliffs, which rise vertically from the sea to a height of six hundred metres. We are lucky that it’s dry, but the cold wind from the ocean makes it a chilly boat trip. The cliffs are home to several species of seabirds, including puffins. We do see some birds during the trip, including puffins, but unfortunately they are all quite far away. They fly over or float in the water and dive away as soon as the boat approaches.
After visiting Vestmannabjørgini I have lunch at the tourist information centre / restaurant at the harbour (where the grilled salmon is excellent) and then I drive to Saksun in an hour. As the crow flies Saksun is not that far from Vestmanna, but the interior of Streymoy is impassable, so the only way to get there is to drive back a bit and then drive north via the east coast of Streymoy. The last part to Saksun, on route 53, is a lovely route through a beautiful green, elongated valley, the Saksunaldalur, on a narrow single-lane road where you regularly have to stop at a passing place to let oncoming traffic pass.
The remote village of Saksun has only 33 inhabitants, but they live in one of the most beautiful places on the Faroe Islands. The village is located at the end of Saksundalur, on a lagoon that fills up with the ocean twice a day. The wooden houses with their grass roofs and the picturesque white church are surrounded by high mountains from which waterfalls pour down. An incredibly photogenic place.
Eysturoy
On Wednesday morning I leave Tórshavn and drive north again via route 10 along the Kalbaksfjørdur and Kollafjørdur. At Nesvík I drive over the bridge that connects Streymoy with Eysturoy. Eysturoy is the second largest island of the Faroe Islands. On the south side, the Skálafjørdur, the longest fjord of the Faroe Islands, runs deep into the island, in the north the Funningsfjørdur does the same.
I drive north along the west side of the island via route 62. The entire way you have a wide view of water, mountains and small villages. In the north of Eysturoy lies the small fishing village of Eidi. The village has about 650 inhabitants and is beautifully situated on a bay, surrounded by high cliffs. I walk around the village for a while and then continue on the narrow route 61, gradually climbing. After five minutes I pass a lookout point where you can see the sea stacks Risin (71 metres) and Kellingin (69 metres) standing in front of the steep cliffs on the north coast of Eysturoy. The road runs through desolate mountainous landscape, populated only by sheep, past the highest mountain in the Faroe Islands, the 882-metre-high Slættaratindur. Clouds hang ominously around the peaks of the mountains. It’s a beautiful route to drive.
A turn-off to route 60 takes you on a narrow, single-lane road to the far north of Eysturoy. The road runs through a long valley that has been eroded by the Dalá river. At the end of the road, almost at the northern tip of the island, lies the small village of Gjógv. The colourful wooden houses are picture-perfect on a small bay overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. The village has a natural harbour in a two-hundred-metre-long gorge. This is also where a trail starts that goes up to the top of the cliffs on the west side of Gjógv. On top of the cliff you have a wide view of the Atlantic Ocean. Fortunately it is dry, but a strong cold wind is blowing.
On the way back from Gjógv I park the car at a cattle grid where there is also a sign and you can cross the fence via a small wooden staircase. This is the start of the Gongutúrur or Hvithamar trail. I wait a while until it is dry (a rainshower is just passing over) and then I walk into the marshy grass field and up the slope. It’s an easy walk, which ends at a high cliff with a beautiful panoramic view of the Funningsfjørdur and the surrounding mountains.
After this walk I continue on route 61. The road winds down via a number of hairpin bends, with beautiful views of the small village of Funningur, which lies at the end of the Funningingsfjørdur. Then I drive along the east side of the 13 kilometre long Skálafjørdur to the south of Eysturoy. In the meantime it’s raining quite a bit, which is okay as long as I’m in the car. I end up in Runavik, where I spend the night.
Bordoy and Vidoy
The six north-eastern islands of the Faroe Islands, the Nordoyar, are less visited than the other islands, but they are no less beautiful. I visit two of them: Bordoy and Vidoy.
It’s a rainy Thursday morning when I drive to Klaksvik. The subsea Nordoyar tunnel connects the island of Eysturoy with Bordoy. At the end of the tunnel you are immediately in Klaksvik. Klaksvik is the second largest town on the Faroe Islands, after Tórshavn, and has over four thousand inhabitants. It has a busy fishing port and is beautifully situated on a bay, surrounded by mountain peaks. However, those mountain peaks are shrouded in dark grey rain clouds. When it’s dry, I walk around the town, but without being able to see the beautiful location there is not much to it.
From Klaksvik I drive further north. Two tunnels connect the west coast of the island with the east coast, straight through the mountains. On the east side of Bordoy lies the fishing village of Nordepil (population: 160). Wooden houses look out over the Hvannasund. A short bridge connects Bordoy with Vidoy. Here too you soon drive into a tunnel, which ends on the east coast of the island. At the Vidareidi viewpoint you have a magnificent view over the coast. On the left rises the 841-metre-high Villingardalsfjall and on the right, off the coast, lie the islands of Fugloy and Svinoy.
In the north of Vidoy lies the small village of Vidareidi (about 350 inhabitants). Here you really have an end-of-the-world feeling. The village lies at the foot of the Villingardalsfjall. I drive back along the west side of the island and then back to my hotel in Runavik.
On Friday morning I drive through the eleven-kilometre-long Eysturoy tunnel, which has connected the islands of Eysturoy and Streymoy since 2020. The special thing about this undersea tunnel is that it is the only undersea tunnel with a roundabout. I have already (to my surpise) come across a roundabout in a tunnel in Norway, but that tunnel was in a mountain, this one is 72 metres below sea level…
At the beginning of the afternoon I am back at the airport on Vágar. My five-day trip to the beautiful Faroe Islands has come to an end.
