Little bridge over the gorge: Discovering Ásmundarstakkur on Suðuroy

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Mikkel, Solveig and I had just arrived to Suðuroy, the southernmost island of the Faroe Islands when we started our roadtrip. It was raining heavily as we headed north towards the village of Sandvík, in search of a break in the clouds and the cliffs and gorges of Ásmundarstakkur.

It was the day before Easter so the ferry didn’t sail when we’d thought and planned for. We got up early and headed to Tórshavn so we could be there when the ferry was supposed to sail at 7 AM. Unfortunately, a mistake on the website hadn’t notified us and other passengers of the changes, so we had to wait until 11 AM to set off to Suðuroy. Thankfully, we had the car, so we spent those hours driving to the quaint village of Kirkjubøur and giving Mikkel a sightseeing tour of Tórshavn.

The time went quickely and soon we were off, on our way to the southernmost island. The ferry ride took two hours, offering great views of Streymoy, Nólsoy, Sandoy, Skúvoy, Stóra Dímun and Lítla Dímun along the way. At 1 PM, we were finally there and started the drive towards Sandvík. Suðuroy is an incredibly beautiful island to drive through, one of my favourites, and I especially love the views of Lítla Dímun from many different angles.

When we approached Sandvík the weather had luckily – miraculously – cleared up! We searched for the road towards the cliffs, which was easy to find as a sign pointed us in the right direction. The road was a simple dirt road that got worse the further we got, so at one point we decided to just walk the rest of the way. We didn’t really want to damage our rental car on a remote island!

I could tell even from the drive that this was going to be a beautiful spot, and I was right. The view of Ásmundarstakkur, which is a sea stack surrounded by vertical cliffs and tall mountains is breathtaking.

I had read online that there was a small bridge over a gorge near the cliffs that was worth seeing, and I thought it would be right next to the cliffs. But when we couldn’t see it, we decided to walk up Mt. Glyvraberg on our left to see if we could spot it.

We first came to a narrow gorge, Tvørgjógv. By crawling close to the edge, we could see all the way to the bottom of it! We spent a little while there watching the birds that roam the place, before continuing up the mountain.

I actually thought that Tvørgjógv would be the gorge with the bridge, but it wasn’t, so our hike had to continue. I ran in front of the others to see if I could spot anything as I felt slightly guilty for making them hike again after our long climb up Mt. Slætteratindur the day before, especially when it wasn’t planned. Thankfully, it was all worth the efforts. I found the bridge and called the others who then hiked up to me! The bridge is a simple wooden bridge that isn’t significant in itself, but it’s the fact that it crosses the enormous gorge of Rituskor that just makes it look insane! The gorge was so large that we couldn’t possibly see the bottom, not even from the bridge! And the view of Ásmundarstakkur with the bridge in the foreground was amazing – totally instagrammable, as Solveig and Mikkel would say!

I’ve never seen anything like this view, I swear. It’s now my new favourite spot in the Faroe Islands! Unfortunately, the wind was too strong for us to dare cross the tiny bridge, so we left that for another trip. I can imagine how amazing the views beyond the bridge must be as well, so I’m already dying to go back there!

How to get to Ásmundarstakkur

Take the ferry from Tórshavn to Suðuroy. The price is 80 DKK for a passenger and 225 DKK for a car (incl. the driver). See the timetable here.

When you get off the ferry in Tvøroyri, drive or hitchhike north to Sandvík through Hvalba. When you get to Sandvík, turn at Heiðavegur when you see the sign to Ásmundarstakkur and follow the dirt road for as long as possible. You have to go through a gate at a farm at the beginning of the road. The road gets very bumpy towards the end with limited space to turn around, so you might want to walk the rest of the way.

You can also catch a bus from Tvøroyri to Sandvík and then walk to the cliffs, although the bus timetable is quite limited. See the timetable here.

Walk to the end of the road to get a great view of Ásmundarstakkur and then start hiking up towards the two gorges. The bridge crosses over the second gorge. You can cross the bridge, but it’s at your own risk and only one person per time. It’s not recommended in windy or wet weather.

Fancy going with a local guide instead? Click here to book a tour!