Faroe Islands (Part 2)
May 2026 - June2026
Today we leave Torshavn and venture onto a new island and a new place to stay. The weather was nice again today, so before leaving Streymoy we completed the activity that had been cancelled the day before.
We first drove up into the mountains with a river cutting through a glacial valley below us before turning off, and descending a steep winding road into the coastal valley of Nordradular. The valley opened up at the cliff edge giving us great views of the coastline and the islands of Koltur and Hestur.
The snake road toward Nordradulor valley
Road scenery
Sheep on the horizon
We then retraced our route and crossed Streymoy to take the next undersea tunnel to a new island, Eysturoy. This undersea tunnel was different to the others because it has the world’s only undersea roundabout. The roundabout makes an impressive site whilst travelling under the Atlantic Ocean. Lite up in blue, green and red with lots of human statues circling the light.
The only undersea roundabout in the world
Once on Eysturoy, we drove from our entry in the south to the most northern tip,
the village Gjogv (pronounced Jake’v).
Gjogv is famous for its 200 metre long sea filled gorge running into the village. For centuries, the gorge was used as a landing place for local boats, the remains of which can be seen today. Its an attractive village with many traditional houses in beautiful surroundings. Looking north out to sea, the next land mass is Iceland. Looking south, alpine meadows stretch up into jagged mountains.
Gjojv, looking toward the ocean
Gjojv (will win lot a point in scrabble)
The gorge at Gjogv (nope, don't know how it is pronounced )
Those mountains looked irresistible so we drove out of the village and did a short hike to explore them further. Our path was along a cliff with great views of the valley below and the island of Kalsoy in the distance. When we started the walk it was warm and sunny but by the time we had got back to the car low cloud had descended and visibility was poor.
Road to Funninger
Still snow on the mountain
It was time to go down to lower elevations and visit the fishing village of Funningur. Full of the usual charm the village is said to be the place of the first human settlement on the islands. Commemorative artwork and information board explain the story.
Aerial view of Funninger and the fjord
Childhood memories mural
Sheep mural
Memorial to the first settlers on the islands
Memorial to first settlers on the Islands
From Funningur the road hugged the banks of a fjord before we turned east and took the undersea tunnel to our next island, Bordoy. It was then just a few kilometres to Klaksvic and our base for the next three nights.
It rained all day and low cloud covered the mountains, on our first day in Klaksvic. It didn’t matter though as we had planned a day of none driving anyway. The bonus was it was Nordoyastevna, the traditional festival to open the rowing season on the Faroe Islands. People were in traditional dress and looked very smart. There were rowing races using traditional boats, which we could just about see from our balcony, so didn’t need to stand in the rain. The day was then completed by a firework display at the local football ground. We didn’t attend the final event as the fireworks were not let off until half past midnight. Although, again we could see them from our balcony and in the dry.
A day a chilling out due to weather , a few hours later, we couldn't see the town at all
Some traditional dress
Slupp, the Faroe Islands beer
Klaksvik harbour when the fog lift
Sea rowing regatta,raditional sea rowing is the national sport of the Faroe Islands.
Rowing regatta
The next day started the same way the previous had ended, rain and low cloud. The forecast, however, suggested the weather would improve in the afternoon. So we had a leisurely start to the day.
Just after lunch we drove out of Klaksvic towards our activity for the afternoon. A rock causeway, half way down the fjord, gave us access to the island of Kunoy. Kunoy has just two towns and one road. You arrive on the island at the town of Haraldssund, then take a single lane road tunnel to the other side of the island and our destination of Kunoy. Its the bigger of the two towns and looks out over the fjord to the island of Kalsoy.
Kunoy has the only woodland on the islands and this is what we had come to visit. We walked up from the centre of the town towards a mountain amphitheatre and the woodland that nestles in its foothills. The mountains still had snow on them, which the locals had told us was unusual for this time of year.
The woodland was planted in 1914 so is in a mature state. It consists of Ash, Spruce and Birch trees and takes about 10 minutes to amble from one end to the other. The trees surround a massive boulder called Eggjarsteinur, which is believe to have toppled down from one of the mountains. A single rope on either side of the boulder allows you to climb on top. Anne and I had just had lunch so didn’t bother with the climb.
There is a path along the base of the mountains where you emerge from the wood. We walked along this for a short distance then turned back when a stream blocked our route. It was then a matter of retracing our steps to the town and our car.
The entrance to the Kunoy Island tunnel, single lane tunnel
Kunoy resident, well the other were tourist couple from another village
Traditional building
Amphitheatre
Unsual to see on Faroe Islands, some woodland
It was now our last day in the Faroe Islands. We left an overcast Klaksvic around 10:00 and drove (1:30hrs) across four islands to reach Vagar and our departure airport. Each time we emerged for the tunnel onto a different island the weather had changed, and to begin with, not for the better. Fortunately, that wasn’t the case for Vagar, which greeted us with a bit of blue sky. Ideal, as we had planned a short hike before taking the plane.
Along the cliffs above Sandavagur runs a path to a view point. From that viewpoint you can see a very pointy sea stack, going by the name of Trollkonufingur. Legend has it, that a giant witch was attempting to steal the archipelago to take back to Iceland. However, she arrived too late to do the deed and the sun turned her to stone (that’s why giant witches work at night). The petrification process caused her to fall in to the sea. Her head is now the rocky island just off the coast and the finger she gave to the sun, the pointy sea stack we see today. The sea stack has only been climbed 12 times and the attempts have caused at least one fatality.
Trøllkonufingur or Troll witch finger, was trying to throw the islands toward Iceland but turned to stone at sun rise and fall in the sea
Weather on the move, always on the Faroe Islands
The pleasant hike was our last activity on the Faroe Islands. From there it was a short drive to the airport and flight to Copenhagen, Denmark. We had really enjoyed our time on the islands, were quite lucky with the weather and were sad to leave.
We overnighted in Copenhagen at an airport hotel. Then caught a flight back to the UK the next morning.
Personal Observations & Interesting Facts
1. Many millions of years ago the Faroe Islands broke off from what we today know as Greenland. Ending up in the middle of the north Atlantic Ocean.
2. Glaciers, wind, rain and sea have moulded the islands into what they are today. Mountainous with steep sea cliffs.
3. What is unusual on all the islands is the lack of trees. A few have been planted in the towns, but beyond that there are none (except for Kunoy Woods). The reason for this, we guess, is that grass is better suited to the soil and harsh Atlantic climate.
4. The Faroe Islands have almost no water aquifers so rely on rain for the water needs. Fortunately the Islands receive rain on almost 300 days of the year, so there is no shortage of water.
5. The islands have been inhabited since around the 7th century. The first settlers were from Northern Britain most likely from what we know as Ireland and the Scottish Isles today. It was once believed that the Vikings were the first settlers but they didn’t arrive until over 100 years later. When they did arrive they ceded control of the islands and banished the current settlers.
6. The islands have a good and well maintained road network, although sometimes only single lane. Land tunnels cut through the mountains and sea tunnels connect many of the islands (the rest are served by ferries). The Faroe Islands have the world's only undersea roundabout.
Undersea tunnel mural, one of many on this 12km tunnel
The colouring is probably to let us know we are under water
7. Sheep roam everywhere and are often found on the road, creating a driving hazard. They area reared for the wool and meat.
Sheep have priority
The Faroese sheep, a small, extraordinarily hardy breed belonging to the Northern European short-tailed group, introduce over a millennium ago
Sheep living on the edge
8. Fishing still is the mainstay of the economy. Although the importance of Salmon Farming has grown whilst conventional sea fishing has declined. Most Fjords are now home to a salmon farm. Tourism is growing and now contributes a fair share to the economy. Diversification into IT and Financial Services is in its early stages.
Salmon farm
9. The Faroe Islands have their own language which is similar to Icelandic (Not Danish as might be expected). It is close enough to be understood by Icelandic speakers. However, and unsurprisingly, English is widely spoken across all of the Faroe Islands.
10. The Islands (18 in total) population is around 56,000 and has one of the highest birth rates in Europe.
11. The Faroe Islands are technically a Danish overseas territory, although they function as an independent country. Denmark would provide military support should it be needed and their currency is pegged to the Danish Krona.
12. Waterfalls are everywhere on the Faroe Islands, you can usually see one from wherever you are standing. They tend to be a wide sheet of shallow water, tumbling down the mountain side, forming a stream in the valley below. Occasionally, they cut a grove in the rock and form a deeper and more powerful channel of water. What ever form they take they are an integral part of the landscape and enhance the beauty of the scenery.
This featured blog entry was written by MAd4travel from the blog MAd4Travel.
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