Getting almost to the very “end” of the West Fjords, where all Icelandic roads end – that was our plan for today. So it will be about the route through Hólmavík, Djupavik, to almost the very end, which is Krossneslaug. There will be amazing places and views whose beauty cannot be conveyed in words, and there will be nature painting the most beautiful pictures. Just the (un)usual magic of the West Fjords, worth driving every kilometer.
They are said to be the wildest place in all of Europe. And even though it’s probably just a marketing ploy, because except for Hornstrandir, people here live quite normally, the West Fjords nevertheless have something amazing and untamed about them. Nature kind of seems rougher and more powerful here than anywhere else in Iceland. The cliffs steeper and more dangerous, the ocean more agitated, and the wind more penetrating, cold and gusty. Fewer people, farms, sheep and a single road that runs along the coastline, sometimes still gravel, but still passable and for most of the year. Raw, majestic and lonely – that’s how we remembered the West Fjords, with the rest see for yourself.
FIRST STOP – HOLMAVIK
We drove more than 70 kilometers from our last overnight stop near the hot springs (you can find more about them and our route from the previous day here) and Holmavik may not have been the first stop, as there were already dozens of them, but it was certainly the first major town. You have to know that in the West Fjords, in fact, the road becomes a destination in itself, and this is perhaps the most beautiful thing here. There are no specific points and places to see, here you just drive ahead and each successive cove delights you, and each successive cliff makes you shudder at what you will see behind it. It is possible to drive many miles without visiting any of the guidebook must see places, and internally we feel more travel-satisfied than visiting the south of Iceland.
Back to Homavik, however. The town is not much different from typical Icelandic ones. Colorful, with a nice church on a hill, a small harbor and several attractions for visitors. Among other things, you’ll find the Museum of Witchcraft, which disappointed us a bit with a very poor exhibition, but makes up for it with a forced cafe with delicious coffee and Icelandic rhubarb cake. In Holmavik, it’s also worth replenishing supplies and filling the tank to the brim before continuing our journey. Further on, we didn’t see any more stores or gas stations until Norðurfjörður.
WEST FJORDS – EAST COAST AND DJUPAVIK
From Holmavik we continued along road 61 to the north of the fjords, first on a paved road, then turning into gravel 654. And the farther we got from 61, the fewer cars we passed, until finally we were left almost completely alone. The feeling of being at the end of the world – this was the impression that accompanied us all the way along the east coast of the West Fjords. The houses we passed could be counted on the fingers of one hand, and most of them looked abandoned or used only in the summer anyway. Here I think we realized for the first time what it is to live in isolation and away from civilization.
And so on for the next several dozen kilometers, until we reached Djupavik. In the complete middle of nowhere, in a place where no one would really expect it, lies a tiny hotel and several houses that were once part of a thriving fish processing plant. Today it’s already abandoned, pretty much devastated, although it’s likely to live a second life, because through the shabby and cobweb-covered windows we could see that some renovation work was being carried out inside. On the door we found an old advertisement for exhibitions and concerts and a notice that the owner was giving tours to visitors for a small fee. All around half-eaten by rust are ships, fishing boats that haven’t been used for years, car parts and even a fire department truck. All this wrapped in a magical aura of nostalgia and transience, an image as if taken alive from post-apocalyptic films. A real treat for photographers and urbex enthusiasts.
WEST FJORDS – WHERE THE WORLD ENDS
And what is further beyond Djupavik? Maybe not quite the end of the world, but certainly the end of civilization. A place where the road has an end and further on you can already pack your belongings in a backpack and start a few or several days’ trekking towards Hornstrandir (this is one of the options where we save a lot of money by giving up boat transportation, although the trek itself is considerably longer). And at this end of the world we found something we didn’t expect to find – a geothermal pool. Located on a rocky beach overlooking the ocean, Krossenlaug is the northernmost pool. And one of the most beautiful in our opinion.
This is where we spent the night. A bit semi-legal, because theoretically we shouldn’t (take a look at our post about wild camping in Iceland – you can find the link here), but with the permission of the locals, so we decided that we wouldn’t look for anything else. The weather in the afternoon changed, the sun literally went behind the clouds in a few minutes, it started to drizzle unpleasantly and the chill sort of became more severe, but let’s be honest, who would care about that while sitting in the warm water? :)))
We spent many more days in the West Fjords, worked on a sheep farm and lived with an Icelandic family for over a month. We learned about their customs, cuisine, and woke up every day with an amazing view outside the window. We’ll probably write more about it, but in the meantime, catch a map of our trip and some photos at the end. Also, don’t forget to check out our other posts. :)))
