Iceland: Hiking in Hornstrandir Nature Reserve

• Traverse the Westfjords, the most beautiful, rugged and captivating corner of Iceland
• Visit two of Europe’s largest bird cliffs, with millions of seabirds nest in noisy rookeries
• Experience the allure of the summer tundra, where wildflowers and waterfalls abound

In the Hornstrandir Nature Reserve in the Westjords of Iceland, wilderness reigns. The last permanent residents moved away in 1952, driven from their subsistence farms and fishing villages by harsh winter conditions and the exceptional remoteness of the region. Now only a scattering of summerhouses remains. No roads mar the landscape; the only access is by boat or on foot. The topography of this remote peninsula is varied and dramatic: vertiginous sea cliffs rise above deep fjords while lush valleys divide ridge upon ridge of basalt mountains. Wildlife abounds, with plentiful arctic fox, ptarmigan, seals, whales, porpoises, and sea birds by the millions. Nearly 50 species breed on the massive rock edifices of Hælavík and Hornvík, two of the biggest bird cliffs in the North Atlantic where we find great rookeries of guillemots, razorbills, eiders, puffins, kittiwakes and fulmars.

To spend days hiking across this uninhabited land at the edge of the Arctic Circle is to find a sense of peace and solitude unavailable in more civilized corners of the world. Summer is sheer magic here, as the tundra bursts into a green blanket that drapes the mountainsides and rolls to the horizon beneath the perpetual sunlight. Open vistas unfurl in every direction, and we feel miniscule amidst the shifting sky, snow-edged mountains and steel blue sea.

Along the way we stay in a mix of summer homes, cabins and base camp tents, allowing us to carry only minimum personal belongings in our own backpacks, freeing us to travel nimbly across this captivating terrain.

Come with us to discover a wild land at the outer edge of Europe that few have ever heard of, and fewer still are fortunate enough to experience.