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The Westfjords
Awarded Best in Travel 2022
The Westfjords is where Iceland’s dramatic landscapes come to a riveting climax and where mass tourism disappears – only about 10% of Iceland's visitors ever see the region. Jagged bird cliffs and broad multihued dream beaches flank the south. Rutted dirt roads snake north along jaw-dropping coastal fjords and over immense central mountains, revealing tiny fishing villages embracing traditional ways of life. In the far north, the Hornstrandir hiking reserve crowns the quiet region, and is home to cairn-marked walking paths revealing bird life, Arctic foxes and ocean vistas. The Strandir coast is less visited still, with an end-of-the-line, mystical feel, geothermal springs and minuscule oceanside hamlets.
Leave plenty of time: unpaved roads weave around fjords and over pothole-pitted mountain passes, but the scenery is never short of breathtaking. Once you get used to it, you may not want to leave.
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Top attractions
These are our favorite local haunts, touristy spots, and hidden gems throughout The Westfjords.
See
Westfjords Heritage Museum
Part of a cluster of historic wooden buildings by the harbour, this museum is in the Turnhús (1784), which was originally a warehouse. It's crammed with fishing and nautical exhibits, tools from the whaling days, fascinating old photos depicting town life over the centuries, and accordions. To the right is the Tjöruhús (1781), now an excellent seafood restaurant. The Faktorhús (1765), which housed the manager of the village shop, and the Krambúd (1757), originally a storehouse, are now private residences. The museum ticket is also good for the Old Blacksmith's Workshop in Þingeyri.
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Ósvör Maritime Museum
The old turf-and-stone fishing shacks of the Ósvör Maritime Museum powerfully evoke a past age. A guide in a typical lambskin fisher’s outfit shows you around the shore-side settlement, outlining its history and traditional seafaring life from the Settlement Era to the present day. There's also a cramped fishers' hut full of relics and a rowing boat. The museum is down a turning to the right, just after you emerge from the tunnel heading into Bolungarvík from Ísafjörður.
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The Factory
Crumbling plaster, towering chimneys and vast water tanks ensure Reykjarfjörður's old herring factory is an atmospheric place. The trappings of old industry litter its dusty, cavernous spaces. Now each summer they're filled with powerful mixed-media pieces by acclaimed artists. Here photos, paintings, fabrics, found art, sculpture and installations, blend with audio exhibits and the crashing sounds of the mighty waterfall and waves outside.
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Museum of Everyday Life
Celebrating the magic of the mundane is the aim of the powerful, creative displays here, where shoes, books and mini-movies each come with personal narratives and story fragments. As an intriguing insight into life in the Westfjords it's poetic, thought-provoking and beautifully done.
See
Arctic Fox Center
The study of the Arctic fox has been underway on nearby Hornstrandir for years, and this locally loved exhibition details the life of the creatures, their relationship with humans and their habitat. It also has a wealth of stuffed foxes in realistic poses plus some cute-looking live ones, who were orphaned, in a pen outside. The centre sits inside the renovated farmstead of Eyrardalur – one of the oldest buildings in the area. The on-site cafe is a great place to hang with welcoming locals – try the daily soup (1600kr), which comes with homemade bread.
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Sorcerer’s Cottage
The three-room turf-roofed Sorcerer’s Cottage is part of the Museum of Icelandic Sorcery & Witchcraft in Hólmavík and shows what living conditions were like for the purported sorcerers. It's dim, cramped, cluttered interior is intensely atmospheric – look out too for the magic staves carved into the woodwork; designed to deter evil, cast spells or bring good luck. The cottage is signposted behind Hótel Laugarhóll.
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Skrímslasetur Icelandic Sea Monster Museum
Moody, fun, elaborate and dramatic exhibits about Icelandic and foreign monster legends fill the rooms here. The interactive multimedia table tells 180 stories of local sightings. You won't look at Arnarfjörður in quite the same way again. While it's great for larger kids, wee ones might get freaked out by some of the giant models. The museum also has a small cafe.
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Culture House
The intensely close-knit nature of Westfjords life is evoked in the 2nd-floor displays in what was once the town hospital. Look out for vintage scales for newborns, a disturbing hacksaw and an eye-watering enema device, and the touching testimonies of former patients. The ground floor is occupied by the town library.
See
Old Town
Ísafjörður's historic quarter borders it's eastern edges. Start explorations in Tangagata to see gabled, tin-clad homes, often brightly painted in patriotic russet red or blue, trimmed with white. Look out for the dates from the late 1890s and early 1900s above the doors.
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