Faroe Islands · Trek

THE JOURNEY IN DETAIL

Eighteen islands in the Atlantic.

The Faroes are eighteen basalt islands between Iceland and Scotland, with not a single tree but seven hundred metres of vertical coastline and seventy thousand sheep. The weather changes four times a day, and that is part of the point. We walk old sheep paths between villages, climb the highest summit Slaettaratindur and sail to the Kallur lighthouse on Kalsoy.

• Slaettaratindur, 880 m, the highest point of the islands
• The Kallur lighthouse on the tip of Kalsoy
• The optical illusion of Sorvagsvatn above the ocean
• Saksun village and the turf roofs of Gjogv

1. 01
   DAY 1 · City walk and briefing

   Vagar, Torshavn and the first evening

   We meet at Vagar airport and drive to Torshavn, the smallest capital in northern Europe, with the turf roofs of Tinganes. An evening briefing on weather: here the forecast is checked every three hours.

   Overnight: Hotel in Torshavn
2. 02
   DAY 2 · 10 km, 350 m of climbing

   Sorvagsvatn and the Mulafossur waterfall

   We walk along Sorvagsvatn to the Traelanipa cliff, where the lake appears to hang a hundred metres above the ocean — the famous optical illusion. In the afternoon, Gasadalur and the waterfall that drops straight into the sea.

   Overnight: Guesthouse on Vagar
3. 03
   DAY 3 · 10 km, 450 m of climbing

   Mykines and the puffin colony

   The ferry to Mykines, the westernmost island, and the path to the Holmur lighthouse across the seabird cliffs. In season tens of thousands of puffins and gannets nest here; the path is ticketed and capped.

   Overnight: Guesthouse on Vagar
4. 04
   DAY 4 · 12 km, 600 m of ascent

   Saksun and the old postal path

   We follow the historic path from Saksun to Tjornuvik, the route by which post travelled between villages for centuries. Saksun sits above a tidal lagoon ringed by sheer slopes.

   Overnight: Guesthouse in Gjogv
5. 05
   DAY 5 · 7 km, 650 m of ascent

   Slaettaratindur, 880 m

   The highest point of the Faroes takes about three hours from the pass between Gjogv and Eidi, up a grassy, rocky ridge. On a clear day nearly the whole archipelago is visible — though such a day has to be caught.

   Overnight: Guesthouse in Gjogv
6. 06
   DAY 6 · 6 km, 250 m of climbing

   Kalsoy and the Kallur lighthouse

   The ferry to Kalsoy, a narrow island the locals call the flute because of its five tunnels. The path to the Kallur lighthouse runs along a ridge above the ocean and ends on a headland with a three-hundred-metre drop.

   Overnight: Hotel in Torshavn
7. 07
   DAY 7 · 6 km and a transfer

   Sornfelli, Klaksvik and departure

   Depending on the weather we climb Sornfelli above Torshavn or drive to Klaksvik, the country’s second town. In the afternoon, a transfer to Vagar airport through the sub-sea tunnel with its underwater roundabout.

   Overnight: —