Hesteyrarskard Pass Travel Guide

Aðalvík bay, Hornstrandir. Photo: Sigurður Bjarnason, CC BY 2.0

Hesteyrarskarð is a 270 m mountain pass in the Hornstrandir Nature Reserve, in the far north of Iceland's Westfjords. It links the abandoned village of Hesteyri, on Hesteyrarfjörður in the Jökulfirðir fjords, with Látrar in Aðalvík on the open north-west coast.

The 10 km trail over the pass is one of the shortest and gentlest crossings in Hornstrandir and a common first day of a multi-day trek through the reserve.

Key Takeaways About Hesteyrarskarð

• 270 m pass in Hornstrandir Nature Reserve linking Hesteyri (Jökulfirðir) with Látrar in Aðalvík
• 10 km, about 4 hours one way on an old cart road and cairned descent (Environment Agency figures)
• No roads: reach Hesteyri by summer boat from Ísafjörður or Bolungarvík
• Best late June to mid-August; register with the Environment Agency if travelling before 15 June
• Campsites at Hesteyri and Látrar; Læknishúsið café in Hesteyri in summer

Why visit Hesteyrarskarð

The name means "Hesteyri pass"; Hesteyri itself means "horse spit", after the gravel spit the village stood on. Hornstrandir has no roads, no permanent residents and no shops.

It was protected in 1975 after the last farms were abandoned, and the Arctic fox is protected from hunting here, so the foxes are unusually relaxed around walkers.

The Hesteyrarskarð trail is one of the easiest ways to get a first taste of this landscape on foot.

Hesteyri summer houses. Photo: Denis DespaiR, CC BY 3.0

The walk starts in Hesteyri, where just over 80 people lived at its peak in the first half of the 20th century.

The village had a doctor, a school from 1884, a radio station from 1922 and a shop, and two kilometres along the fjord at Stekkeyri a Norwegian whaling station opened in 1894, later becoming a herring factory that ran until the Second World War.

The last residents left on 1 November 1952. Today nine houses survive as summer homes, the tall chimney of the factory still stands, and Læknishúsið, the Old Doctor's House, serves soup, cake and coffee to hikers in summer.

The church built in 1899 was taken down in 1962 and moved to Súðavík; a bell and a plaque now mark the churchyard.

From the village an old cart road, still easy to follow, climbs gradually up the valley to the pass. At 270 m, on Hesteyrarskarð pass, you leave the sheltered fjord behind and the view opens north-west over Aðalvík, a wide bay facing the Greenland Sea.

The descent brings you to Látrar, a fishing village of 120 to 130 people in the 1930s that was also abandoned in 1952.

On the headland of Straumnesfjall above it are the ruins of a United States radar station from the 1950s, and off Straumnes lies the wreck of the Goðafoss, the first ship of the Eimskip shipping line, which ran aground in 1916. Arctic foxes are often seen near both villages.

How to get to Hesteyrarskarð

There is no road access. Everything starts with a boat to Hesteyri.

• Get to Ísafjörður, the main town of the Westfjords. From Reykjavík it is roughly 420 to 450 km by road depending on the route, about 6 hours of driving, or a 40-minute domestic flight.
• In summer (roughly June to early September) scheduled boats run from Ísafjörður to Hesteyri; operators in recent seasons have included Sjóferðir and Borea Adventures, with Hornstrandir Tours sailing from Bolungarvík. The crossing of Ísafjarðardjúp and Jökulfirðir takes about an hour. Book ahead, check the current timetable, and expect cancellations in bad weather. Boats also serve Aðalvík, so you can be picked up at the far end of the walk; confirm with the operator whether the landing is at Látrar or Sæból.
• The trail begins behind the houses at Hesteyri. The route to the pass follows the old road up the valley, and from the pass cairns mark the way down through Stakkadalur to Látrar, where the Stakkadalsós river has to be waded (sandy bottom). The Icelandic Environment Agency lists the Hesteyri–Látrar trail at 10 km and about 4 hours one way. Allow longer with a heavy pack or in fog. Hesteyri is roughly 3.5 km from the pass; Látrar is about 6.5 km down the other side.

Best time to visit

Late June to mid-August is the safest window. Snow often lies on the passes into June, the boats run only in summer, and Læknishúsið and the rangers are present then.

Anyone travelling in Hornstrandir before 15 June must register their plan in advance with the Environment Agency, and outside the summer season you should expect snow, closed facilities and no scheduled boats.

Midsummer brings 24-hour daylight; fog rolling in from the sea is the most common weather problem and can arrive quickly even on a clear morning.

Safety and practical tips

• Hornstrandir is remote and help is far away. Register your plan on safetravel.is, carry a map and compass or GPS, and be self-sufficient in food, fuel and shelter.
• Camping is allowed only at designated campsites, including Hesteyri and Látrar. Open fires are banned. Take all rubbish out with you.
• Dress for cold, wet, windy weather in any month and carry waterproof boots; the lower trail sections are boggy and the streams run high after rain or snowmelt. The Hesteyrará river, once a serious obstacle, has been bridged since 2004.
• There are no shops or fuel, and no mobile signal to rely on. Toilets are at the campsites; Læknishúsið in Hesteyri sells meals and simple accommodation in summer and must be booked.
• Do not feed or approach the foxes, and keep well back from nesting birds.
• Visit the Hornstrandir visitor centre at Silfurgata 1 in Ísafjörður before you sail for current trail and snow conditions.