Travel Iceland with Iceland Travel Travel the Westfjords Iceland’s Westfjords are dominated by dramatic fjords cutting paths into steep mountains and towering, angular cliffs. The Westfjords are a haven for a rich variety of birdlife, and were once renowned for witchcraft, sorcerers and wizards. Geologically speaking, the Westfjords contain some of the oldest parts of Iceland, with rock formations up to 14 millions years old. Excluding the highlands, the Westfjords have the most scattered population in Iceland. Over the centuries, the people of the Westfjords have battled the elements to harvest the ocean riches. There are many tiny fishing villages huddled against sheer mountains, but there are also large areas of the fjords left uninhabited. The Westfjords offer visitors the opportunity to see the seabirds on their rugged cliff-face nests, arctic foxes in their grassy meadow lairs, and seals in their deep-blue water playgrounds. At the westernmost point of the Westfjords is Látrabjarg, one of Europe’s largest bird cliffs. Please note! General road conditions in the Westfjords are not as good as in other parts of the country, so please drive safely, especially on gravel roads. Some sections of road are very high up with no guard rail.
TRAVEL THE WESTFJORDS
THE LAW PERTAINING TO BLUEBERRIES wild Icelandic blueberries are by no means unique to the Westfjords, but it’s here that they seem most accessible. Traveller’s who stop at the side of the road to check their map have been known to look down and find an unexpected snack – best picked in late summer. And if anyone questions why you’re crawling through the moss with fingers stained blue, you can say with confidence that you’re sticking to the law – Icelandic law stipulates that you may pick enough blueberries on public land for private consumption. Bon appetit!
The Strandir Coast The Strandir coast, along the Westfjords’ eastern edge, is renowned for its ‘rugged beauty’, and seems as likely place as any for such a cliché to originate! Beaches strewn with driftwood, seals lazing about offshore, birds aplenty, and a road that, if you follow it all the way north, simply ends at the edge of a vast, desolate wilderness, home to the arctic fox 101
