Oh the Faroe Islands….. how can I even do you justice?
If you caught our Iceland blog you know that we spent a week in Iceland and then did some crazy transportation shifts between the international and domestic airport in Reykjavik in order to take an Atlantic Airways flight over to the Faroe Islands. The above photo is actually to blame for this journey because I first found out about the Faroe Islands when I was following a photographer friend on Instagram and he posted the above shot and I inquired about it, asking if it was even a real place. From there I started researching the Faroe Islands (aka Narnia) and after hearing about the beauty of this place, I was absolutely hooked and insisted that we spend a week here following our Iceland trip. We had to shift some plans last minute but thankfully we found some affordable flights (only Atlantic Airways can fly to the Faroe’s (owned by Denmark)) and this amazing Air BnB owned by Asa which was located in the Faroe Island capital city.
The Faroe Islands is a very small self governing country of Denmark. With less than 50,000 people on all of the 18 islands, they have one of the smallest capitals in the world. Most of the citizens of this amazing land live in the capital city while the rest live in these quaint and and beautiful towns you have ever seen. I’m absolutely obsessed and in love with this place, I only hope that it never changes and that tourism here stays low so that the natural beauty of this land is forever maintained. With Iceland we were kind of disappointed on how the tourism had impacted the environment and we really hope that the Faroe Islands stay raw and beautiful. Some interesting things to note about the islands- most of the “attractions” are privately owned lands through which the owners just allow visitors who respect the property to visit and hike around to enjoy the beauty of the planet. Many of the places we visited that were considered “top sites to see” usually had less than 1-2 people at it during what is considered their busiest tourism season of the year. The Faroe can’t really handle a large amount of tourism, that probably explains why we could never find a guide book. Don’t worry though, we did, we just had to go to Iceland to find it 🙂
Doug’s used to dealing with my crazy but the rest of the world really isn’t. We flew directly over Gasadular (the city below and above) on our way in and I was literally giddy with joy that it was a clear day. The weather in the Faroe Islands is VERY touch and go, typically cloudy and rainy most of the time we did not expect to get a clear day much less a sunny one. When we landed and collected our rental at the tiny airport we headed STRAIGHT for this waterfall and the tiny village of around 20 people. Not much more than 10 years ago, the only way to access this village was to hike over the mountain to get here, in fact, the post man used to do that hike 3 times a week to get mail to the village. Today, within the last decade, a one lane tunnel has been created in order for people to reach the village easier. You can still hike the trail today, its just an absolutely beautiful site. I couldn’t believe that this was real. After we checked in to our amazing Air BnB apartment, we headed to grab essentials and dinner in the capital. We were just a few blocks away from the beautiful downtown harbor. I’m just so in love with this city and these islands.
Most of the Faroe Islands are connected by tunnel, helicopter, or ferry. There are two sea tunnels on the islands that go under water and they are quite the experience. They also have a lot of one lane tunnels and bridges, definitely an interesting driving experience 🙂 Our second day on the islands was visiting the island of Mykines. Even less people live on this island (around 18 I believe) with no roads or cars and it only being accessible by Ferry. Hiking Mykines is a religious experience for any hiker or lover of the outdoors because it is just so incredible beautiful. Again, we were blessed with not just a clear day but a sunny one which is EXTREMELY rare for Mykines. It constantly has a mushroom cloud over it of clouds and rain and we really didn’t anticipate the weather being so amazing. There are new rules for hiking Mykines and we encourage all to follow them. Thankfully, we were able to do the hike at a decent pace despite the extreme climbing, stairs, rocks, and elevation. Along the way we met a ton of sheep and puffins and saw amazing views where the photos just don’t do it justice. The lighthouse was the final goal and once we reached the top we sat and just started at the beauty of “the edge of the world” while puffins surrounded us with their cuteness. We met a local there who gave us some great advice about where to visit next. It was a grueling hike and a long day but so worth it.
The next day we visited Saksun, Gjvov, and some other cities along the way. The village of Saksun is the most beautiful place I have ever seen, nestled in a bay that you can walk through during low tide and adjacent to some magical waterfalls you literally feel like you’re in Narnia. I couldn’t believe this place was real the entire time we were there, I literally pulled the car over so many times you’d be embarrassed. The entire country is full of waterfalls so much so that you just become immune to driving by them. We walked the bay in Saksun and enjoyed the beautiful beach views. We then headed to Gjvov and Klavisk via the tunnels and saw the amazing villages. We didn’t get to every island but we were able to visit some of the “major” spots and I’d love to back some day and explore the islands that are a little harder to get to.
The final day was a hike to the “lake above the ocean” which again delivered an amazing, clear and sunny day. We were SO lucky! The hike was very easy and ended at the top of a large cliff where there were no safety guardrails but only the amazing view of the lake surrounded by the waves crashing below. The photo is definitely all about angles as there is actually quite a lot of space between the lake and the ocean cliffs. The day ended with us heading back to Gasadular to walk the entire town and enjoy that magnificent waterfall I’m obsessed with (think super large canvas print you guys) one last time before we left. I’ve literally never seen a more beautiful place than the Faroe Islands and I have probably said that about Iceland, Alaska and many other places but for real, the Faroe Islands have my heart forever. This gem of the North Atlantic will fill my walls and heart for a very long time.
If you want to visit this place- please talk to us about your plans, we would love to give you some advice. There aren’t any tourist attractions or very good signage, we had to hike or “find” most of these places and views on our own. We would love to give you advice if you want to visit this beautiful place. We also can’t recommend our Air BnB experience enough as well as the great local places we visited. These islands are full of the nicest people you’ll ever meet, everyone we met was kind to us. They have opened this beautiful place to the world and if you’re lucky enough to get to travel here you’ll be one of few. We were told several times it was rare for American tourists to really come here as it is more of a European spot for travel but we hope that those who want to respect and appreciate its beauty get to experience it.
We hope you enjoyed these photos as much as we did taking them.
-The Keys
Jack West - It really is awesome land, and your photos help me better understand why you were so excited about what you were seeing. Thanks for sharing.