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Ísafjörður

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Hornbjargsviti

Hornvík Heights and Sights

The best two days – Hornvík Heights and Sights

Join us for a hike in the heart of Hornstrandir, taking in all of its beauty, including Hornbjarg bird cliffs and Hornvík bay.

When limited to only a couple days in Hornstrandir, the toughest part can be deciding where to go.

Bay is a clear favourite for many travellers and is our recommendation for the “I only have a couple days, where should I go?” traveller.

We totally recommend doing more than a day trip to the nature reserve as the nature takes on a different shape in the evenings.

The Arctic Fox comes out from their dens searching for food, the midnight sun shines straight into Hornvík bay and it’s very cosy to sit around the table in our basecamp enjoying a nice cup of tea talking to your fellow travellers.

Contents of this tour

Tour overview

  • 2 days
  • Min age: 16 years
  • Total Distance: 21km
  • Group Size: 2-8

Description

The wildlife in Hornvík is amazing with over 6 million birds nesting on the cliffs, Arctic Foxes that are so relaxed that you can enjoy their company very close up and many species of waders that call the bay their home.

The nature is so pristine and breathtaking, you will return from this trip a different person.

We sleep in comfortable 2 person tents and have a big separate cooking/eating tent which is heated, where we spend time socialising and drying off our gear!

Please drop us an email if you’re interested!

 

 

Included:

  • Boat ride to and from Hornstrandir Nature Reserve
  • All food
  • Accommodation at our comfortable basecamp
  • Professional guide

Not included:

  • Travel to and from Ísafjörður prior to and after the trip
  • Food on the first day until the trip departs
  • Personal medical insurance
  • Personal equipment and clothing

Difficulty: Challenging

Photos

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WIldlife and Hesteyri
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Itinerary

We meet at our office in Aðalstræti 17 (downtown main street) at 8am for a briefing, where we will answer any questions and make final preparations. We depart from the harbour in Ísafjörður on our passenger boat at 9am.

The ride to Hornvík Bay takes between 2 and 3 hours and en-route you can see the whole coastline and bays that are carved into Hornstrandir. All these bays were once occupied by our ancestors that harvested the land and fished the waters. The ferry will drop us off on a land under the old farm of Horn and we start circumnavigating the edge of the magnificent Hornbjarg bird cliffs.

During the hike you will experience looking down the 400 meter cliffs (if you dare) to see kittiwakes taking a bath in the lake under the cliffs, thousands of birds soaring the edge, Arctic Foxes searching for food on the beach and enjoy the magnificent view over this isolated and pristine place. We then start our descent to our camp where we will have a well-deserved dinner.
Distance: 12 km.
Altitude gain: 550 m.

This itinerary is a guide only and is subject to change depending on the weather, sea conditions and the ability of the group.

We take an easy morning. After a hearty breakfast we will say goodbye to Hornvík bay and start hiking towards Veiðileysufjörður on the southside of the peninsula. The hike takes us up to 500 meters and is on a path most of the way. When walking down the pass is usually covered with snow and is a little steep. Our guides will be there to help every step of the way.
Then we follow the path down to the fjord where the boat will pick us up around 5 – 6pm, we then make the journey back to Ísafjörður which takes around an hour.
Distance: 11 km.
Altitude gain: 450 m.

This itinerary is a guide only and is subject to change depending on the weather, sea conditions and the ability of the group.

What to bring

Remember that everything you bring you will have to carry on your back for the entire hike. Try to pack as light as possible while still bringing everything you need.

Please note that we provide the tents, sleeping bag, mattress and pillow and you will not need to carry any of this with you. However, you will need to bring your own sleeping bag liner and pillow cover.

  • Warm outdoor clothing including hiking pants and warm upper layers. Please avoid cotton as it keeps you cold when wet and takes a very long time to dry.
  • Waterproof jacket and pants.
  • Hiking boots. Please use waterproof high-top hiking boots, which provide ankle support.
  • Hat and gloves.
  • Small backpack.
  • Personal medical kit i.e. band aids, throat lozenges, lip salves, seasickness tablets etc. Don’t forget your personal medication, which you may need (e.g. Asthma inhaler, even if you don’t always need it).
  • Sun glasses.
  • Sunscreen and after sun cream.
  • Binoculars are nice to have for watching wildlife. (Optional).
  • Water bottle.
  • Sleeping bag liner and pillow cover.
  • Don’t forget your camera!

FAQ

The hike is approximately 21km in total and we hike trails most of the way, however, there are rough sections of the trail, including loose rocks and snow. We start at sea level and the highest point is approximately 500m on the first day and approximately 400 on the second day, so we gain around 900m in elevation over two days. If you are an active and regular hiker, especially if you’re used to some elevation, then you will have no trouble on this hike. It is always best to do some practice hikes in your local area anyway!
Of course, we realise that we’re not all made the same and have different needs and desires. We try our best to cater to your needs. Please let us know ahead of time if you have any requirements so that we can plan the food accordingly.
We often see Arctic Foxes on this tour. Because hunting is banned in Hornstrandir, there foxes are not timid around humans and therefore we can sometimes get very close. However, the foxes are still very much a wild animal, so we make no guarantees that we will see them.
Yes, that’s right. All camping gear will be waiting for you in Hornvík. Please bring your own sleeping bag liner and pillow cover though.
The main problem that we’ve had to deal with is guests not having appropriate boots. High top ankle boots give much better support and keep you dryer than hiking ‘shoes’. We hike through a mixture of rough terrain including wet grass, loose rock, snow, streams and sand. Therefore, we need supportive boots to help prevent ankle injuries and waterproof boots to keep you warm and dry. We recommend Scarpa leather boots or nylon versions with Gore Tex. There are many other good manufacturers such as La Sportiva, Mammut, Merrell, and Meindl.
You arrive in Keflavik International Airport about 40 minutes away from the capital city of Reykjavik. From the domestic airport in Reykjavik there are 2-3 daily 40 minute flights to Isafjordur. You can take the Fly-Bus between the airports and most of the time you can continue same day. Check out Air Iceland Connect for schedules and special offers. You can also rent a car and drive to Isafjordur. The drive, over mountain passes and through fjords is an adventure itself. It’s about 440-500 km depending on which route you take. A new road via Arnkötludalur opened in 2009 which completes the asphalted pathway the whole way, and kills the old myth of bad roads in the Westfjords! The drive will normally take you 5-6 hours. A new tunnel opened in September 2020 under the infamous mountain pass between the fjords of Arnarfjörður and Dýrafjörður. That tunnel makes it much easier to travel through the Westfjords all year round and shortens the route up the West coast. For accommodation in Reykjavik there are many options of hotels and guesthouses that we can book for groups. Please ask us for individual bookings. We strongly recommend you to spend a few extra days visiting the West Fjords and other parts of Iceland. We’re happy to help you arranging few days in the area or give you good tips about exciting things to do while in Iceland.

Map

We had a wonderful time on the Hornvik heights and sights tour in early July! We had six people in our group and two guides, Luke and Orla (though typically there’s one guide). The Hornstrandir area is beautiful, and our guides told us about the history of the area and pointed out the different types of wildflowers we saw on our hike. On the first day, we hiked uphill from the fjord, took a lunch break (they provided a pack lunch), hiked over a mountain ridge (which involved walking through a few snow fields), and down into the valley where the campsite is located. The base camp area was nice, and it was great not to have to pitch our own tents! The tents do let in a fair amount of light, so I would recommend packing an eye mask. We also saw a few arctic foxes running around, and a seal not far from the shore! On the second day, we hiked on the beach near the campsite for a bit (including a short river crossing) before heading up the Hornbjarg mountain. On our way up, we encountered another arctic fox that hung around near us for a few minutes! Much of the hike was quite steep, but extremely worth it. From the top we had an incredible view of the fjord, the valley, the river we crossed, the surrounding mountains, and the sea. We finished the hike by descending down to the shore, and got picked up by the boat. This was a great capstone to our two week vacation in Iceland!

Dana Hoffman via Google Reviews 2023

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