Saksun to Lonna, Jun 10th

After having that glimpse of Saksun from the trail, I drove around and headed there to check it out. At the very least, I wanted to see that shallow lagoon that opens to the sea and maybe hike out to the Lonna Bay. When I got there, I parked at the end of the road and started hiking down with the lake in front of me

After passing a short canyon, where the road and a small creek is, you can see the little village of Saksun to the right on the other side of the lakelet up in a hill.

I passed a sign that said to be careful with the tide as you could get trapped on the other side. As I walked on sand, I could envision how that would happen. Even though the path was wide, it was very flat, and nothing could contain the water if it started coming up. A smaller section up ahead was a bit trickier as the water was closer to the rocks. Looking at distance, I figured I had enough tine to go out and come back before the water got too high

That path eventually took me all the way to the outer bay where I walked across the beach. It was kind of surreal to be walking on a beach this far north

I stayed thee for a bit and then retraced my steps back to the car. One section got a bit trickier and I had to scramble over slippery rocks, but it was no big deal. I managed to keep my shoes dry

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Tjornuvik to Saksun, Jun 10th

As with most routes in the Faroe Islands, this one connects the villages of Tjornuvik and Saksun. I wasn’t sure yet if I was going to hike all the way to Saksun and back or just go half way and then drive to Saksun to explore. So off I went to Tjornuvik which took a bit over an hour to find a beautiful little village hidden in a small valley looking out to sea. There are several old farm houses and little coffee shop and a place to stay. I walked and wandered around a bit before heading to the other end of the village where I found my way to the trail. 

At first, it starts going up following old rock walls around farm land with splendid views of the village. Contrary to what I had seen so far, there were a ton of yellow and some bright purple wild flowers all over and the ubiquitous grassing sheep. The trail does kind of a semicircle and get to the point that seems to be the official start of the hike where an iron gate marks the route to Saksun. The way the gate is marked is quite interesting. From one side you read Tjornuvik in reverse and then “til Saksun” (to Saksun). When you read it from the other side Tjornuvik is the right way…. Clever

From there, the path follows a small creek as it climbs towards a saddle. As I gained elevation I got closer and closer to the clouds. I lost the view of the village behind me as a huge valley appeared in front of me. The bottom of the valley was marked by a snaking creek. Far in the distance I could see the sea under the cloud cover.

From that point on, the trail traverses the slope of the valley gently loosing elevation until you get to the edge where it drops more steeply to Saksun. From the point you get the best views of the village and Pollurin, a shallow lake that opens to the sea. From above you can clearly see how far the tide can change the shape of the lake and the path that seems to go out to sea on the opposite side of the lake.

After taking some pictures and enjoying the view, I decided to retrace back to Tjornuvik, so I could drive to Saksun and explore a bit and maybe walk out to sea if the tide was not too high. On my way back though, I opted to go off-trail to get closer to a couple of waterfalls I could see in the distance. Getting there didn’t seem to be much of an issue and it wasn’t, so I was able to get some pictures of the waterfalls while I had a bite to eat.

On my way back to the trail things changed quickly. Seems; like the route I decided to take went thru nesting areas, so I got attacked by birds that chased me out of there. I had to run back and mostly retrace my steps to get back on the trail. Faroese birds are nasty. The rest of the hike back was really nice as I got to walk back down towards Tjornuvik enjoying the view at every step of the way.

Once I got back to Tjornuvik, I dropped my pack in the car and went down to the coast line to walk a bit and found a path heading around the bay to the left. I followed the path for a bit just to check it out until it disappeared in front of me. Leisurely a made my way back to the car and on to Saksun

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Midvagur to Traelanipa, Jun 9th

There are two or three hikes in the Faroe Islands that ended up being epic mostly for scenery. This is one of them, and in fact, this hike is one of the things that drove to me go all the way to Faroe Islands and explore. The hike itself is not too long and doesn’t have a lot of elevation gain as compared with other routes in the islands, yet it has, in my opinion, one of the most incredible and mind-boggling views. The hike starts from the village of Midvagur that is close to the airport. The trail takes you around Leitisvatn lake that looks like something gigantic stepped in leaving a footprint impression while displacing the ground to the sides.

Far in the distance, a change in color tell you you’re looking at the ocean. It doesn’t necessarily make you think you’re in some sort of plateau, but you get that as you get close to Traelanipa. For the most part, the trail is gentle and goes fast up until you get closer to cliff. Then you get to a four-way junction that sits at the very edge of a cliff down to the see. In front of you are vertical walls that almost make the terrain look like someone just cut a piece of it. At this pint you can get as close as you want or as brave as you are, to the edge. Views certainly don’t disappoint.

There is a user path on the left side that gives you better views of the right side, but it gets windy as you get higher. I took a couple of pictures from the point I got to and the retraced my steps back to the edge and continued on the trail towards the top of Traelanipa.

I circled around for a bit until I found a couple of spots with the view I was familiar with and was able to sit next to the edge with my feet dangling on the edge. From this angle is hard to understand you are looking at a lake that sits on a plateau and below is the sea. It almost looks like the lake should be the sea. Even without the angle covered with the camera lens it was hard to get that in your brain.

While exploring the top of Traelanipa, I saw a waterfall from the lake into the sea. The wind was blowing steadily, and clouds were rolling in. In the distance, a big chunk of earth is detached from the mainland and sits there in the ocean.

I managed to find my way to the waterfall which ended not being as dramatic as I saw it from above. I still explored a bit around the mouth of the lake and then headed back on the lower trail with the intention of taking the shortcut to the parking area. AS I did that, I walked right into a nesting area and was chased down by angry birds that dive millimeters from your head. Without an option, I had to stay on the lower trail all the way to the main road and then hike the road back to the trailhead to get to my car.

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Gasadalur, Jun 9th

After seeing Gasadalur from the top of Knavin and realizing it was in my to-do list, I got back on the car, drove thru the last tunnel and the long winding road down to a farm house just outside the village of Gasadalur and parked next to the sign pointing towards Mulafossur. This waterfall is one of the few places that you can consider more touristy in the Faroe Islands. Rather than a hike, where you have to navigate and find your route, this is just a short walk from the road to a magnificent view point from which you can see the waterfall, the village and Heinanova mountain behind.

It’s quite the scenery, that’s for sure. This image is, according to an article I read, what opened the Faroe Islands to the world. Seems like someone came to explore and shared the picture on social media and it went viral. After that, tourism picked up and placed the Faroe Islands on the map.
As I was walking back, I stopped at a junction with a well-marked, wide path heading north towards the village. It looked inviting, so I took it. As I walked and enjoyed the views, started realizing the path was probably build by the farmer that owns that plot of land. It also seemed they build it, so people would actually walk around a bit and eventually find their way to the village and a nice coffee shop (it was closed when I got there). I walked around some of the old farm houses easily recognizable by the black walls and turf roofs before heading back to the car just when the rain came in.

You can see the rest of the pictures here

Bour to Knavin, Jun 9th

When I got back after my first couple of hikes, I realized that my plan to start on one end (the far end) and work my way to the other end hiking all the areas I had planned and researched was not going to work. It wasn’t a bad idea in paper, but I didn’t think that the driving would accumulate fast. I had spent several hours in the car driving in solitary winding routes, so I wanted to do something closer. So instead of heading back and start from where I left off, I decided to start at the other end from Bour just north of the Airport. This hike is the original route that connected the village of Bour with the Village of Gasadalur before the tunnel was built. That last minute change made me forget or not check a little detail that I would realize later in the day, but we’ll get to that later.

The hike started from a small parking lot at the end of dirt road heading towards the ocean as it gained elevation quickly. It almost seemed like the route was made by someone who wanted to get closer to the precipice to get a better look at some of the features on the northern side of the Faroe Islands. First and the smallest is Drangarnir, a vertical rock that comes out of the sea and has an arch underneath. Just looking at it gives you the idea that no one has ever set foot there (unless there’s a way to climb on ropes or something).

Then is the island of Tindholmur with steep hill that looks like the rocks were lifted by strong winds. I had read about this place and learned it’s a private island and nobody leaves there despite having a “summer” house. There are tours to the island and guided hikes to the top of that mountain that I wanted to take but rain didn’t allow it. Still pretty amazing to see it from the distance.

The there’s Gasholmur which in contrast is like a plate, almost flat with no prominent peaks or features other than cliffs all around it (I believe there’s no access to this island).

And finally, all the way to the northwest, the islands of Mykines known for the abundance of birds, especially puffins. I also thought about going but then rain didn’t allow it and someone I met on the trail said it was overrated. Who knows.

That view stayed with me for several switchbacks as I gained more elevation and going around Rogvukollur. It was a steady climb passing several cairns on the way until I could see one last big cairn in what looked to be the saddle over Knavin.

Looking at the map, it seemed like from there the trail went almost straight down to Gasadalur which, at that moment I thought I was doing. But then, when I reached that spot, I realized several things. First, it was a long way down that I would need to climb back again to get back to the car and second, there was a big waterfall into the ocean down there. I had completely overlooked the fact that I had that waterfall in my to-do list without realizing where it was. I knew I was going there anyway so instead of hiking down to then retrace my steps, I decided to hike back and the drive to Gasadalur to check the waterfall.

Before doing that though, I did explore the ridge a bit as it extends to the north not only overlooking Gasadalur but also Heinanova, the peak behind it and all the way to Mykines. It was quite the spectacle. After a bit and taking a bite to eat, I started my hike down retracing my steps. As I did I got a second chance to enjoy the views of the islands and a smaller water fall from the side of the mountain down into the fjord below. Not a bad way to start the day – next stop, Gasadalur!

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Yviri a Gjotanga, Jun 8th

On the way back from Nakkurin, I took a slight detour on the island of Bordoy and followed Mulavegur all the way to the village of Muli. This little village is supposedly abandoned although it doesn’t look like it. It’s among the first settlements in the Faroe Islands dating back to the 14th century. Being old and remote, Muli was the last village to be connected to electricity in 1970 and got an access road in 1988. Thru history, Muli never had more than 25 inhabitants in the four houses that form the village. Beyond the houses, the villagers did their farming and fishing. To the north, the farm land ends at a deep gorge where villagers use to go hunting for northern fulmar eggs. There’s not much to say about this short hike, but just looking at the village, the farm land and the gorge, you can only start to imagine how life was in this remote area.

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Nakkurin, Jun 8th

This was my first hike in the Faroe Islands, but before I get to it, I need to talk a bit more about the islands. After spending several days in the warm and sunny Norwegian early summer, landing in the Faroe Islands was a bit of a surprise. Just getting out of the airport you get the feeling of desolation, that you are in the middle of nowhere. That might have been accentuated by the sheep resting in the shadow of my rental car. AS I drove to Torshavn, I started noticing the incredible topography. It almost seems like the Faroe Islands was, at some point, under a big chunk of ice that melted away leaving behind only the tallest mountains as islands. Being so far north, I also noticed the lack of trees. It was already looking like a weird place.
Before the trip, I did my homework and selected a handful of hikes I wanted to do and created an itinerary starting from the farthest island (the longest drive) and moving west from there. Later I would make adjustments to it as I learned the weather can be quite different in different islands. With that, my first hike was to Nakkurin which I believe is the northernmost point of the Faroe Islands. It’s also located in the farthest east island you can drive to and at the of a road. Yes, it might sound a bit extreme but in the Faroe Islands almost everything is at the end of something. Either way, the drive there was long but interesting. Just because of the way the Faroe Islands are, you have to drive around to get anywhere unless there’s a tunnel, and there are a lot of those, some of them even going under the sea which was fascinating. Some others (tunnels) were more stressful as they were single line and I had to quickly learn the “rules of the road”. On those tunnels only one direction of travel must yield to the other. Just to get an idea, here’s the map for my first drive. All those blue lines are tunnels.

So, I finally got to the trailhead locate din a remote village and right from the start I notice stark differences from what I’m used to when it comes to hiking. The main thing is the trail is not well defined and only marked by either blue plastic pipes buried in the ground or cairns. Still, it looked pretty amazing from the start. After passing a gate, which is common in the Faroe Islands just to keep sheep on one side, I started heading up on farm land were walls were built using rocks from the hill. Just looking at that I can only imagine how long these have been here and how long they took to build. Right in front of me the mountain looked like a huge amphitheater. As you climb the side of these mountain on a straight line, the views of Vidareidi get better and better. From higher up it’s very interesting to see how the greenest is right were the village is and how it connects two islands.

The trail makes a slight turn up and heads straight up towards Villingadlsfjall which was like stepping into Mars. I was right below the clouds, so the sky was a grey, heavy mass while the ground and everything around me was orange and rocky.

Even with the fog cairns were easy to spot as they were many and not too far apart. Navigating was easy. Around me I could only feel the weather and hear birds flying all around. It was surreal. At some point I knew I was getting closer to a cliff and a ghostly red image appeared out of nowhere. It was a fellow hiker from Portugal with whom I spent some time talking and sharing our experiences since he was doing a very similar trip as mine but all on boat and spending a lot more time in each place. After that He took off and I saw him slowly disappear in the fog.

I continued and got to a spot where the mountain drops to a narrow catwalk. At first it made me nervous as I couldn’t see how far down was down, but after a few minutes I decided to take a big breath and just cross. As I did, I saw ghostly images of birds flying very close to my head and a fain blue way down on both sides. Luckily, I don’t suffer from vertigo, so I hanged there for a bit and took some pictures

I went a bit further, as further as I dared, and that’s were I finally saw the birds. This area is known for that and even though I could only see a handful flying and nesting on the step rocks, I could hear dozens flying below in the clouds.

As I was turning around and starting to make my way back, some of the clouds lifted momentarily and I was able to get a glimpse of the ocean below me. It was far down so I was glad I was getting back on firm terrain. The hike back retraced all my steps but as I did, I got a different angle view of the amphitheater at the beginning of the hike and had to stop to take some panoramas.

As I walked the final steps to the car, I knew this week would be filled with the most amazing and unique topography I’ve ever seen. It made me happy to be there.

You can see the rest of the pictures here

Svelgabreen, Jun 6th

This last hike in Norway was a bit of gamble for a couple of reasons. It was way out there in a very remote location I was not even sure I would be able to get to and there was not a lot of information about the hike it either. Still, there was the promise of being up close and personal with the glacier which is always attractive so off I went. The drive there was long and tedious at first as I got off the main road and started driving on a winding road deep into the mountains. At first it was hard to make sense of where I was going but then I got to some spectacular lakes with the most amazing colors. I made several stops on the way, so it took a bit longer than expected to get to the trailhead.

Along the way I started realizing (and would corroborate later) that the lakes were man-made. It so happens that his area is peppered with dams and small electric generation stations tucked in the mountains. There are power lines everywhere and the roads were built to give access to all these plants. In fact, the trailhead is right before the road ends at the gate of the last power plant.

The hike started with a steep incline that was half covered in snow. Right there I knew there was a chance I would not get too far. It was probably to early in the season for this hike. What I could see as a trail was muddy and slippery and then there were sections I couldn’t see. It was hard to follow the track, but the views were making up for that. Looking back, I had little ponds and light blue lakes showing a very low water level.

Once I left behind the views of the lake and creek I hiked up on I got to a view of Mosevatnet, another glacier melt lake. I walked around in the area for a bit until I found a good angle to look deep into the other end where the glacier comes all the way down into the water. From pictures I’ve seen of this hike, I thought that’s were I was going but that was not the case. In hindsight I guess I could’ve just gone off trail to that area. It might have been a better destination for the day.

Around that spot, I found the trail junction separating the upper and lower trails. Both trails join further down but the reason is just to avoid what can be a difficult crossing in the spring. I took the lower route (the more difficult) on the way in and soon I found the area that could be more difficult. As I was coming down from a hill, the trail was taking me to a small dam with a railing as part of the trail. Further down a sign for rafters indicated a big jump ahead as I believe their route takes them over another small dam. That second crossing, since it’s also used by rafters, has no handrails so if there’s water running it could be tricky to pass. Lucky for me and with the lakes being so low, the top of the dam was dry and very easy to pass.

From there I started traversing snow fields as I made my way along an arm of Midbotvatnet, a much larger lake. This lake, in contrast to the ones I had left behind, was grey green and not very pretty. It looked more like a gigantic mud pit. I was also hiking under power lines, so it was not the experience I was hoping for, yet I continued with the hopes of getting to the glacier.

Then I got to the stopping point. I could see a path going over a snow field and another snowfield further ahead that didn’t look very promising. The snow was soft, and it was easy to break thru and going over a rock field covered in soft snow is never fun. I explored around for an alternate path but by then the hike wasn’t doing it for me, so I took a short break and started heading back.

On the way I took the high route which didn’t prove to be more interesting until it got me to the view point where I took a couple more shoots and then headed back to the car.
You can see the rest of the pictures here