Haelavik Coveの観光情報

Hælavík is a small, cliff-ringed cove on the north coast of the Hornstrandir Nature Reserve in Iceland's Westfjords.

It lies between the ridge of Skálakambur and the great bird cliff Hælavíkurbjarg, about 4 km north-east of Hlöðuvík and a long half-day's walk west of Hornvík.

Together with Kjaransvík and Hlöðuvík it forms "Víkurnar", the Coves, a string of three abandoned bays under Hornstrandir's northern mountains.

Key Takeaways About Hælavík

• Abandoned cove on the north coast of Hornstrandir, between Skálakambur ridge and Hælavíkurbjarg bird cliff
• Farm abandoned in 1943; birthplace of writer Jakobína Sigurðardóttir
• No boat landing, hut or campsite: walk in about 4 km from Hlöðuvík on the marked Hlöðuvík–Hornvík trail
• Hælavíkurbjarg and Hornbjarg together hold roughly 737,000 seabird pairs (2007 counts)
• Visit late June to early August; register with the Environment Agency if travelling before 15 June

Why visit Hælavík

The name comes from Hæll ("heel" or "peg"), a sea stack standing off the cliff; in medieval records the cove appears as Heljarvík, "Hel's cove". Hælavík cove is one of the quietest places in a reserve that is already one of the emptiest corners of Iceland.

The cove is a short valley enclosed by rock walls on every side, with a black beach, the small lake Hvannadalsvatn where the valley meets Hvannadalur, and the stacks Hæll and Göltur standing in the surf below the cliff. There is no hut and no campsite, and the only paths are hikers' tracks, which is why people make the detour.

The farm here was abandoned in 1943, earlier than most of Hornstrandir, and the house stood just above the beach ridge near the pond Mávatjörn. The writer Jakobína Sigurðardóttir was born in Hælavík and described her childhood there in the book "Í barndómi" (In Childhood), which includes a plan of the farm buildings.

The cove has a dark place in the chronicles too: the Skálholt annals record that in 1321 a large polar bear came ashore from the sea ice at Heljarvík and killed eight people. Local tradition also holds that the inner part of the cove is an elf settlement.

The main spectacle is Hælavíkurbjarg cliff, which closes the cove to the east.

The Icelandic Institute of Natural History puts its sheer face at about 258 m and lists it, together with Hornbjarg across Hornvík, as an internationally important bird area: the 2007 counts give roughly 268,000 pairs of common guillemots, 184,000 pairs of Brünnich's guillemots, 244,000 pairs of kittiwakes, 36,000 pairs of fulmars and 5,600 pairs of razorbills, around 737,000 breeding pairs in all.

A boulder field under the cliff is called Heljarurð, "Hel's scree", after a story that it fell on 18 Englishmen who had come to poach eggs and birds. Arctic foxes patrol the beach for washed-up food, and seals and whales are sometimes seen offshore from the beach and the cliff top.

How to get to Hælavík

Hornstrandir has no roads, and Hælavík has no scheduled boat landing. You walk in from Hlöðuvík or Hornvík.

• Reach Ísafjörður (roughly 420 to 450 km and about 6 hours from Reykjavík by road, or a 40-minute flight). From early June to early September scheduled boats run from Ísafjörður (Sjóferðir, Borea Adventures) and Bolungarvík (Hornstrandir Tours) to Hornstrandir landing places including Hesteyri, Aðalvík, Veiðileysufjörður and Hornvík. Hlöðuvík has no scheduled service: hikers reach it on foot from Hesteyri (14 km over Kjaransvíkurskarð) or Hornvík, or arrange a drop-off with a boat operator. Book in advance.
• From Hlöðuvík campsite, Hælavík is about 4 km to the north-east. The marked Hlöðuvík–Hornvík trail (10 km, 4 to 5 hours, Environment Agency figures) climbs Skálakambur and runs along the Hælavík valley before crossing Atlaskarð (327 m) to Rekavík bak Höfn and Hornvík. The agency describes the first section as narrow and quite steep but well marked with cairns. The GTI hiking tour fits in the cove as an optional evening walk from Hlöðuvík, so allow a few hours there and back.
• From Hælavík an older route climbs onto Hælavíkurbjarg itself and continues east over the cliff top into Hvannadalur and down to Hornvík. This is only for experienced hikers in clear weather.

Best time to visit

Late June to early August. The passes are mostly clear of snow, the boats are running, rangers are in the reserve, the birds are on the cliff (they leave in August) and it never gets dark.

Anyone travelling in Hornstrandir before 15 June must register their plan with the Environment Agency, and outside the summer season you should expect snow, closed facilities and no scheduled boats. Sea fog is common on this north-facing coast at any time of summer.

Safety and practical tips

• This is a wilderness. Carry map, compass or GPS, food and fuel for extra days, and register your plan on safetravel.is. There is no mobile signal to rely on.
• Camp only at designated sites; the nearest are Hlöðuvík and Hornvík (Höfn). Wild camping in Hælavík is not permitted, and open fires are banned throughout the reserve.
• Stay well back from the cliff edge on Hælavíkurbjarg. The grass is undercut and slippery, and the drop is sheer. Do not approach nesting birds or fox dens.
• Streams run high after rain and snowmelt; time river crossings for low tide at the beaches.
• Polar bears very occasionally reach the Westfjords on drift ice; if you see one, move away calmly and call 112.
• There are no fees, facilities or services in Hælavík. The nearest toilets are at the campsites.