Climbing Klakkur: A short sunshine hike above Klaksvík

After our dramatic rescue in Skálatoftir the day before, we needed a day to relax with no plans. I was actually looking forward to spending the day doing absolutely nothing at the camp site, but I was having a hard time facing the fact that we would be wasting a day. After all, we only had 18 days on the Faroe Islands. One would think that 18 days would be more than enough, considering the country’s tiny size, but even after travelling through the islands four times, I can honestly tell you that it’s not. The Faroe Islands has a lot to offer on all 18 islands, and I still haven’t even seen half of it. Also, the weather was amazing that day, so it would’ve been such a shame to waste it!

So, to settle my mind, I decided to still do a hike on that day, although a very short one. I had read about a hike to a mountain called Klakkur overlooking Klaksvík, which wouldn’t be too demanding. Katrine decided to join me, so we set off in the early afternoon. The hike starts on a pass called Hálsur, but to get there from the town, it would take about an hour to walk. Therefore, we decided to try to hitchhike like we had been doing while going from village to village.

Hitchhiking in a town is always harder than on a country road, but we got lucky! An elderly local man, who was out for a drive, stopped, and when he asked where we were going, he said that he would take us there although he hadn’t planned on going there! He is just one example of how friendly and hospitable Faroese people are. We’ve had a lot of good experiences with hitchhiking on the islands – in fact, we didn’t meet anyone who wasn’t interesting to talk to!

The local man drove us along the Ástarbreytin road, which means “the love path”. This road leads from the town to Hálsur, where we began our hike to the summit of Klakkur. When the local man dropped us off at the pass, he went out of the car and shook our hands! It was like we had done him a favour, although he was the one who did us a huge favour! But I like to think that everyone who picked us up and drove us somewhere, especially those who drove us further than they were going (that happened on five occasions!), have benefited from our time spent together as well. It’s possible that they don’t even remember us anymore, but I know that I’ll always remember them – every one of them – and be thankful for their amazing hospitality!

The local man driving off

Not the worst start to a hike – we found this tiny lake at the pass

Mount Klakkur

Hiking up Klakkur was a pleasant experience. There are cairns leading the way, so getting lost is impossible, even for me, and there’s even a very well-trodden path that leads all the way to the top.
According to the tourist books, the hike from Hálsur to Klakkur and back takes about 1,5 hours, but that’s a huge overestimation! Getting up took about 45 minutes, but getting down again was more like 10 minutes, haha. There were no loose stones on the trail, which made it easy to run down. Actually, I heard that during the winter time, this is one of the only places in the Faroe Islands where you can ski!! That’s definitely something to note!

View of Klaksvík at the beginning of the hike

Katrine climbing up behind me

Pretty well-trodden, if you ask me!

Getting to the summit of Klakkur at 413 m. was a breathtaking experience! The view from the top is simply outstanding, and it made me so happy that we had decided to do something with the day! Although the hike was short and one of the easiest hikes I’ve ever done, it was one of the most beautiful!

From the top, we could see the islands of Kunoy, Kalsoy and Eysturoy that were all bathed in sun. We didn’t want to leave this place, so we sat on some rocks at the edge overlooking Kunoy and Kalsoy, and enjoyed the moment for a while. When we were about to leave, two Faroese men came to the top and we struck up a really interesting conversation with them. They told us that they’re trying to reach every summit of every mountain in the Faroe Islands, and I can’t remember the exact amount, but I think they said that there are somewhere around 350 mountains! Now that’s a goal that I want to achieve someday too! So far, I’m only 5 down and a whoooole lot to go!

At the summit of Klakkur

I brought along the Faroese flag, Merkið!

Giving my favourite islands a hug

Cairn high with Merkið

Selfie time! – Katrine and I

Climbing down Klakkur to the Hálsur pass was quick and easy, but finding a lift on a road leading up to a mountain is not easy. We decided to walk down the love path and then all the way back to the camp site at the other end of town, which didn’t really hurt considering the amazing weather and the fact that we had the entire evening to relax afterwards.

Mr. Sheepy above Klaksvík

Beautiful Klaksvík

Hiking up Klakkur was a pretty amazing alternative to doing nothing that day! Once again, we got out there and we found ourselves some fantastic views. Of all the hikes that I’ve done in the Faroe Islands, Klakkur is definitely one of my favourites – it’s a must-do if you’re ever in Norðoyggjar (the north islands), and I would say that it’s for everyone given the fact that it’s not a very challenging hike.