Kunoy, Borðoy & Viðoy: A joyful return to the Northern Isles

Last summer, I showed my family around on my beloved Faroe Islands, which also meant a welcome revisit to several places I hadn’t seen in many years. I usually avoid places such as Gjógv, Tjørnuvík and Fossá because of how many tourists flock there, and I can’t remember the last time I was actually there. So it was high time for a return.

There is definitely a reason why these places are so popular. Gjógv due to its gorgeous natural harbour and steep cliffs, Tjørnuvík because of its black sand beach and view out to the sea stacks of Risin and Kellingin, and Fossá because it’s the tallest waterfall in the country. If you compare Fossá to the majestic Icelandic waterfalls, it may seem insignificant, but what’s really cool about Fossá is how close you’re able to get to it. It’s even possible to climb above it! And on post-rain days, it does look much more impressive than on my pictures below!

But Gjógv, Tjørnuvík and Fossá weren’t the only places that I revisited while showing my family around. While most of my focus has been on the islands of Vágar and Nólsoy in recent years (Vágar because I wanted to bag all its mountains and Nólsoy because it’s a little gem), I’ve neglected the Northern Isles – or Norðoyggjar as they’re called in Faroese. And this is not because they’re not gorgeous, I just hadn’t quite gotten around to exploring them in depth yet. That all changed last summer, though!

After our visits to the above-mentioned hotspots, we drove to Klaksvík, the “capital” of the Northern Isles, home to around 5,000 souls. Klaksvík is a gorgeous town (much more scenic than Tórshavn) and it has a nice few thrift stores that we of course had a look in.

And then it was time for a drive to Kunoy, an island I had only visited twice prior to last summer – and those visits were both in 2015! It was high time for a revisit, something that became apparent as soon as I stepped out the car in the little village on the west side of the island. It was as though as I fell in love with Kunoy all over again. It is GORGEOUS! Not only does the island boast some of the highest mountains in the country, its little village is perhaps the cutest in the country too (maybe only overshadowed by the village on Nólsoy…!).

We spent a while walking around the village and watching a dolphin that decided to swim by just as we arrived – our second dolphin sighting on this trip!

Next up, I wanted to show my family a really special place, the abandoned village of Muli on the island of Borðoy. Now, the Faroe Islands is home to quite a few abandoned settlements (I should know, I’m writing my thesis on them!), but Muli is not like most. It was abandoned quite late, in 2002, and weirdly enough, this was after a road had been built. But Muli isn’t completely deserted. Most of the houses are well kept and in use as summer residences. There were quite a few locals when we went there, so it doesn’t quite feel like an abandoned village as such.

However, if you walk along the coast to the other side of the island, you will reach an actual abandoned settlement where just ruins remain; Skálatoftir. We didn’t walk the entire way, but we did go some of the way out to see a deep gorge and a beautiful view over to Viðareiði on Viðoy.

After seeing Viðareiði from the other side of the sound in Muli, we decided to drive there for our last stop of the day. Viðareiði is the northernmost village in the Faroe Islands, and is the starting point of the famous yet challenging hike to Enniberg, the northernmost point in the country. The last time I was in Viðareiði was actually in 2016 to complete this hike!

But even if not going for the hike, Viðareiði is well worth visiting. It’s one of the most beautiful villages in the country, and as we found out that evening, it’s even more gorgeous at golden hour.

After this beautiful day on the Northern Isles, I was even more eager to return to explore them all in depth. Thankfully, I did return later that summer with a friend, this time to explore Fugloy, an island I’d never even been to before! More on that adventure later!