Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
7
Duel with Arctic terns on Vigur island, learn about Arctic foxes, or kayak by
seals on vast
Ísafjarðardjúp
8
Bike the remote, windswept track on
Þingeyri Peninsula
SOUTH COAST
The sparsely populated south coast of the Westfjords is a tiny version of what's to come on
the wild and wonderful peninsulas further north. Remote fjords (in a smaller version here)
twist along the coast, and though there's a new road being built to cut across their desolate
isolation, its still a bare and dramatic place. It's the primary breeding area for the en-
dangered white-tailed eagle.
The ferry to Stykkishólmur on the Snæfellsnes Peninsula arrives here, or you can enter
by car from the historic Dalir region in west Iceland, taking you through deserted rolling
hills and agricultural fields, then along salt-encrusted rocky bays.
Reykhólar & Around
Reykhólar sits on the southern edge of the
Reykjanes Peninsula
, a minor geothermal area
and gateway to the southernmost section of the Westfjords. Gilsfjö rður is an eagle breed-
ing ground, and west along the coast, the key inlets for eagle spotting are: Þorskafjo
̈
rður,
Dju
́
pifjö rður, and Vatnsfjö rður. There is no bus service to the area.
Sights
White-Tailed Eagle Centre
EXHIBITION
( 894 1011;
www.visitreykholahreppur.is
;Króksifjarðarnes; mid-Jun-mid-Aug)
The White-Tailed Eagle Centre highlights the attempts to increase the population of the
struggling species, which peaked in 2011 at 66 nests. It also has a handicraft and flea mar-
ket. The centre is just west of the causeway on Rte 60 that crosses Gilsfjörður.
Norður Salt
LANDMARK
