7 days of trekking in Hornstrandir — Biggi Adventureguide

Before the trek

I spent the whole summer guiding clients on a supported trekking trip on the world famous Laugavegur trail so this solo trekking trip was my little break/vacation from guiding.

I was in two minds whether to go trekking in Hornstrandir or in Lónsöræfi, two places in Iceland I’m embarrassed to say that I hadn’t hiked in. Weather forecast looked better for Hornstrandir so I went quickly to www.boreaadventures.com and booked the boat transfers. Hornstrandir is notorious for having difficult weather so I couldn’t pass up the chance trekking there in optimal weather.

I had a rough itinerary but I did change it on the trip but of course made sure that whenever I made a change I notified someone. It’s important when trekking in Iceland to let someone know your plan so rescue knows roughly where to search in case something happens.

Day 1 - Veiðileysufjörður (Evening hike up to Tafla) 9 km.

I departed from Ísafjörður with a boat from Borea Adventures. After a quick stop in Hesteyri to drop of some hikers there the course was set to Veiðileysufjörður where I intended to start my trek. My original plan was to start hiking right away to Hornvík but after seeing the big group of hikers that were starting to hike the same route I decided to camp in Veiðileysufjörður and have it all for myself.

The boat preparing to depart Veiðileysufjörður after dropping hikers off. The campsite and WC in the foreground.

I quickly put up my tent and decided to do an evening hike up to a mountain called Tafla. A nice little hike up to about 460m and gave an awesome view over Veiðileysufjörður fjord. My decision to stay in the fjord was also validated as I watched the group of hikers that came on the same boat as me hike up to Hafnarskarð pass with very thick fog coming in. I made my way down back to the campsite, made some dinner while the thick fog encompassed the whole fjord.

Did an evening hike from the campsite up to the mountain Tafla, was rewarded with this view.

Day 2 - Veiðileysufjörður - Hornvík 15 km.

The view from the top of Hafnarskarð pass into Veiðileysufjörður

Started the day in beautiful weather and made my way from the campsite to the trail that leads up to Hafnarskarð mountain pass, the trail starts in a very swampy and wet area but the trail becomes good and dry the higher you go up. The route is very clear to see and easy to follow, should also be the case when covered in snow as there are big cairns to mark the way. Had a nice long lunch in the sunshine at the top of the pass before heading down towards Hornvík.

The view towards Hornvík from the top of Hafnarskarð mountain pass.

There was still a bit of snow on the Hornvík side of the pass as can be seen in the photo above but that was the only snow I needed to walk in on the whole trek.

The trail continuous through quite a barren section until the steep descent into Hornvík when the environment turns lush and green.

After the steep descent I started to see a bright yellow house in the distance and I knew that the campsite wasn’t much further. The weather had been a little bit to good up to this point so I was ready to get to the campsite. I didn’t hurt that when I got to the campsite there was a beautiful arctic fox that welcomed me.

This guy was a little curious about this strange sweaty human staring at him

The main campsite in Hornvík is very well equipped compared to other campsites in the Hornstrandir nature reserve. It has bathrooms with running water, quite a lot of space for tents and there is a rangers hut where you can get information on weather and trail conditions.

This all apparently sounded too good for me so I decided to hike further and go to the smaller and more basic campsite in Hornvík that was about 4 km further. The idea behind that decision was because I wanted to do Hornbjarg and Hornbjargsviti on the next day so it made more sense to be closer to the start of that trail.

A view from the main campsite towards the river crossing and other campsite.

I started walking on the beach towards the smaller campsite about 4 km away. To get there I had to do my first river crossing of the trek. At the mouth of the river it is possible to cross on low tide but it can be tricky with the bottom of the river being very sandy. Looking at the river I decided to go up river a few minutes and found a point that was quite shallow. The official river crossing spot is a bit higher up the river though and is marked by two yellow markers.

After the river it was a short hike to the campsite which was similar to the one in Veiðileysufjörður, dry toilet and a few spots where you could pitch your tent. The view didn’t disappoint either.

Day 3 - Hornvík - Hornbjarg - Hornbjargsviti - Hornvík 21 km.

Another unreal weather day and time to ditch the big backpack. Started to make my way up to Hornbjarg and the view to the other side of Hornvík wasn’t to shabby.

The view to Hælavíkurbjarg cliffs from the ascent up to Hornbjarg

But the main view and one of the most spectacular view that you will get in Hornstrandir is the Hornbjarg area where you can get cliffs as high as 500 meters. The Hornbjarg cliffs are then full of birdlife as you can hear when you walk alongside the cliffs.

After a good lunch and an enormous amount of time looking over the edge and watching the birdlife it was time to keep going towards Hornbjargsviti lighthouse.

As I got closer to the lighthouse I noticed right away that I wasn’t alone. Of course there was a family of arctic foxes waiting for me. I got quite lucky and had the opportunity to watch them fight over their lunch, which was a seagull.

Arctic fox enjoying having the lighthouse to himself.

You can stay at the lighthouse at Hornbjargsviti. It is run by the travel association of Iceland, you can either book a place inside or pitch a tent outside. The lighthouse was closed for the season when I arrived so it was just me and the foxes.

After observing the foxes for a bit it was time to keep going…one more mountain pass to go over and I was ready for the meal that awaited me at camp.

Day 4 - Hornvík - Kirfi - Hlöðuvík 22 km.

Started the day off by hiking towards the river crossing in Hornvík…decided to hike a bit further and do the marked river crossing just to see how it is for future trips and in case I ever guide a trip in Hornstrandir.

Made my way to the main campsite and the arctic foxes were clearly still asleep so no point hanging around there so I kept going to Hlöðuvík.

About 10-15 minutes after the campsite there is an area where you have to do a little scrambling as you can see from the above photo but quite easy with the help of the rope on both sides.

After the scrambling you get to this cove in the photo above called Rekavík Bak Höfn. This is where you can continue to Hlöðuvík by going up to Atlaskarð pass but you can also do a little detour. And that’s what I decided to do. There is a little wooden platform where I left my backpack and went on a pretty narrow trail with a quite a good drop off that leads to Kirfi where there is an amazing view of Hælavíkurbjarg cliffs. I was so glad that I decided to do this detour, was probably my favourite view of the whole trek.

The trail that leads to Kirfi, gets a little sketchier the further you go but not too bad.

The view from Kirfi to Hælavíkurbjarg cliffs.

Met a guided group from Borea Adventures that were enjoying the view.

After spending quite a bit of time in Kirfi I went back, picked up my backpack and started hiking up Atlaskarð pass. Made my way up to Skálarkambur pass were I had an awesome view over Hlöðuvík in beautiful weather, before taking the steep descent down. Not any problem when there is no snow but I can imagine that this are of the trail could be quite sketchy earlier in the season.

Hlöðuvík, the campsite is right on the other side of the river.

When I got to camp I noticed a dead whale in the river (August 2021), the river that is the only water source in the area so make sure you go a bit higher up if it is still there when/if you go.

Day 5 - Hlöðuvík - Aðalvík 25 km.

Another ridiculously hot day as I started walking the beach towards the ascent up to Kjaransvíkurskarð pass, made my way up to the top and had lunch in very windy conditions. There was no wind on either side of the pass…just at the top, so that was probably the most severe weather I experienced on the trip. A whole 20 minutes of bad weather on the whole trek, not too bad.

The beach from the campsite in Hlöðuvík.

The trail up to Kjaransvíkurskarð mountain pass.

Looking back towards Kjaransvíkurskarð pass.

After passing Kjaransvíkurskarð pass this is the view to Hesteyrarfjörður fjord.

As I got closer to Hesteyri I was in two minds if I should set up camp there and then do a day tour to Aðalvík and Straumnesfjall but the weather was good and I was in a good rhythm so I decide to continuo the whole way.

After I made my way over Hesteyrarskarð pass I suddenly became very aware that I was alone and even started thinking about if I would come cross a polar bear. Not very likely but Hornstrandir is one of the places that can get the occasional polar bear due to Greenland not being that far away. But made my way to camp without getting mauled :D

Looking down to Aðalavík with Straumnesfjall mountain in the background.

Water source for the campsite in Aðalvík. Go down the road towards the ocean and you’ll see it on the right hand side after about 1-2 minutes.

Day 6 - Aðalvík - Straumnesfjall - Hesteyri 29 km.

The goal for this day was go and check out the old US army radar station up on Straumnesfjall mountain. The plan when I got down was either to stay one extra night in Aðalvík and then hike to Hesteyri to catch the boat next day or hike straight to Hesteyri and have the last day as a relaxing day. I opted for the latter as I was feeling quite good on the day.

The hike to Straumnesfjall was relatively easy as the Americans made a road all the way up the mountain, so super easy to follow it all the way up. Got some nice views over Aðalvík as I went up but soon I started losing visibility as a thick fog came in and stayed with me as I explored the abandoned radar station. The radar station was quickly abandoned a few years after being built as the need for it wasn’t as high as expected, so it’s just been rotting away since the 50’s.

On the way up to the radar station, view over Aðalvík.

The fog gave the remains quite an eery feeling.

As I got down from the hike up to the radar station I decided to pack up my tent and head to Hesteyri so I could just do a small hike the next day and relax until the boat arrives.

Looking back towards Hesteyrarskarð pass on the way to Hesteyri.

Day 7 - Hesteyri

Woke up in Hesteyri on a beautiful day as always on this trip, I guess the winter will be horrendous to make up for all the good weather I got this summer.

There were quite a number of other hikers on the campsite but other than that the village of Hesteyri was not very busy. Usually you can grab some food and drinks at the Old Doctor’s house which is now a café. Unfortunately a week before I arrived there was a covid infection in Hesteyri so the café was closed. I had been dreaming about the lamb soup and Icelandic pancakes but had to make do with my backpacking food.

I did a short little hike on this day to the old Norwegian whaling station which is close to Hesteyri. After that I just enjoyed the silence and the good weather until the boat picked me up and took me back to Ísafjörður.

The doctors house in Hesteyri, now a café.

Old norwegian whaling station a 20 minute walk from Hesteyri.

Summary

Incredible 7 days in a incredible area, definitely need to come back a few more times to hike the rest. I was super lucky with the weather, so keep that in mind if you are preparing for a Hornstrandir trek, the weather is probably not going to be this good.

Things that are most important to take with you specifically for Hornstrandir:

A proper tent that can deal with severe storms as those can happen in the summer.
Proper waterproof layers that can keep you dry in heavy rain.
Extra warm layers and a good sleeping bag.
GPS, map and a compass. Hornstrandir is known for fog and trails can easily be lost.
Leave a travel plan at https://safetravel.is/travel-plan

Things to keep in mind for a trekking trip in Hornstrandir:

There is no trash disposal in Hornstrandir so you’ll have pack everything out with you.
There is not much cell coverage in the area, I was only able to get cell service and internet at some of the mountain passes. I recommend getting a local sim card from Síminn.
Make sure before you leave with the boat that your gas canister is compatible with your stove. I met two people on my trip in Hornstrandir that hadn’t checked and had no way to heat water.
Stay on the trails and respect the wildlife.
Pack plenty of food! There is one café in Hesteyri where you can buy some food but no guarantee that it will be open when you’re there so don’t count on it.
I recommend taking hiking poles as there are quite a lot of steep descents which can be a challenge with a heavy load.
There are not a lot of river crossings but I alway have neoprene boots or socks to make them a bit more pleasant.

For more information about preparing for Hornstrandir take a look at https://safetravel.is/blog/guide-hiking-hornstrandir-nature-reserve

If you have any questions or need any advice about trekking in Hornstrandir you can always shoot me a message at biggiguide@gmail.com