The Látrabjarg bird cliffs in Iceland's Westfjords are a stunning place to watch puffins and other seabirds! Here are our tips for visiting.
The Látrabjarg Bird Cliffs in the Westfjords of Iceland are remote and beautiful. They're home to multiple species of cliff-dwelling birds, including puffins!
Seeing puffins was high on my list of travel dreams, so we made sure to include Látrabjarg in our itinerary the week after completing a backpacking trek on the Laugavegur and Fimmvörðuhals trails in the southern highlands.
If you too are eager to see puffins in the Westfjords, here are some tips!
Getting There
The bird cliffs are about three hours from Isafjordur, the main town on the far western tip of the Westfjords.
Definitely stop at the Dynjandi waterfall on the way if you’re coming from Isafjordur.
The last hour of the drive is on a narrow, windy, and hilly dirt road. Parts of the road have steep drop-offs, and you may need to use one of the pull-off spots (marked with M road signs) to allow a car to pass.
I did not find the road particularly treacherous, but I was also quite glad I wasn’t the one driving.
You don’t necessarily need four-wheel drive to reach Látrabjarg, but I was glad we had it as an option in case the weather turned rainy during our visit.
Be aware that you may be driving in and out of heavy fog.
What to Wear to Látrabjarg Bird Cliffs
Wear your hiking boots, and bring along a jacket and a hat. It’s windier on the cliffs than it is lower down.
Is This a Difficult Hike?
No, it’s a fairly easy, short walk on either a dirt trail or grassy areas. I did find the grassy areas a bit spongy, and I had to concentrate more than normal on where I stepped.
Also, you're hiking uphill, so there’s a little elevation gain, but it wasn’t extreme. You can continue hiking farther along the cliffs if you like, but most of the birds weren’t very far up the trail.
Should I Visit If I’m Afraid of Heights?
It depends. If you’re absolutely terrified of any drop-off, this won’t be ideal, because it is a walk along a sheer cliff edge.
That said, you can definitely see plenty of birds without getting super close to the edge. (In fact, you really should stay safely away from the edge. There’s a warning sign about unstable cliff edges and strong winds.)
The advice is to lie flat so as to distribute your weight evenly on the ground while you're bird-watching. Also, you should avoid using your camera or binoculars while walking, because they can distort your perception of distances.
I’m mildly afraid of heights and this area didn’t bother me, but it could be different for you.
One informational sign describes the daring rescue of a stranded ship's crew in December 1947, which required rappelling down an icy cliff face and pulling the men back up — in such dangerous conditions that the whole process took about two days.
The event is commemorated in Hnjótur Museum, about 30 minutes away. It's a striking example of both the danger of the cliffs and the power of community.
Best Way to View the Birds
You can see birds flying around without binoculars or a telephoto camera lens.
When we visited, the puffins were just over the cliff edges and easy to spot without extra equipment. (You can also just look for people huddled together looking at something: it’s probably a puffin.)
That said, if you’ve got binoculars or a camera with a long telephoto lens, that’s a nice way to see the birds nesting farther down the cliff faces.
Besides puffins, you might also see the northern fulmar, the black-legged kittiwake, the razorbill, Brunnich's guillemot, or the common guillemot.
If you're not a bird expert, there are multilingual signs that will help you identify them (although some of them still look quite similar)!
The birds generally spend spring and summer nesting on these cliffs and raising their young. They leave around August to winter on the seas.
Food Options Near Látrabjarg Bird Cliffs
If you get all the way out to the bird cliffs without a food plan, you’ll find limited options for most of the drive.
We saw one restaurant at Hotel Breiðavík (20 minutes from the cliffs) and one coffee shop (kaffihús) at the Hnjótur Museum (about 35 minutes before the cliffs). Otherwise there’s not much for at least an hour’s drive from the cliff.
We opted to stop for food at Hotel Breiðavík, and it was a really nice stop! My fish stew was warm and cheesy, and the fish burger was delicious.
The Látrabjarg Bird Cliffs were among our most memorable experiences in Iceland! I hope you get a chance to see them for yourself.
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