HIKING TO DRANGARNIR / TINDHOLMUR

One of the more famous views of the Faroe Islands. Don't be fooled, these views aren't easy to get to, and as you'll read has its share of dangers.

Time: 3-3.5 hours

Distance: 5-6 miles

Difficulty: Medium (possibly hard due to the sloping landscape)

Drangarnir Hiking Tour

IMPORTANT UPDATES: The hiking season for Drangarnir ends on October 1st. Additionally, the land is privately owned and hikes must be arranged through the land owner, Gutti Gutteson. He can be reached at jonvor60@gmail.com or +298 223 072.

I believe these changes are for safety because, as you can read below, this hike has the potential to be very dangerous, especially if it is cold or slippery.

In all, please don’t go on this trail without making these arrangements first!

Drangarnir is probably one of the first images that you see when you Google “Faroe Islands”. Its shape is that of a formation from a sci-fi movie, and to boot the equally as odd island of Tindholmur stands looming hundreds of feet in the background. Being so iconic, you’d assume that this view is easy to get to right? Well, not exactly. You can certainly see the sea stack from other vantage points, but if you want to get up close and personal you’ll have to earn it.

>> This is the part where you would have already wanted to make arrangements with Gutti to hike on his land!

To get to Drangarnir, drive to the village of Sorvagur and park your car around where the ferry to Mykines meets. If you are coming from the airport into Sorvagur, just keep following the roads left and down. That might not be helpful but trust me, that is the best way to describe it. You’ll see signs for the Mykines ferry and just look for a parking spot.

Set out and stay along the waterline. I say this because your instinct will have you climb up and around the industrial equipment, but that extends your trip an extra hour or so. So STAY ALONG THE WATER LINE. You’ll reach the end of the mini industrial yard and simply scoot around the fence to keep going. In fact, you’ll have to scoot around and over several fences—just be respectful and move on, leaving things as you found them.

As you travel along the coast line you’ll cross a small green wooden bridge. This is an indication you are on the right track. Keep on going as close as you can to the coastline and slowly you’ll notice that you’re gaining a bit of elevation. My recommendation is to just pick a sheep path that is going along the coast and follow it. If you are scrambling up or down the mountain, stop, and just go with a natural path that is moving towards the end of the peninsula.

At one point you’ll come across a beach and sheep shed. You can walk along the beach if you choose, but the rocks make it awkward to walk on, so I’d recommend just staying above the beach. As you pass the beach and get to the next point, you’ll come to a lighthouse that, if you really want you can go check out. There isn’t much to it and honestly, it’s just keeping you from the main event. Also, you have to go down the mountain a little bit to get there, so be prepared to go back up. At this point to can see exactly where you need to go, and it’s just a matter of getting there. It’s a bit of an optical illusion as the basin and mountains are so huge, and it will still take you a minute, but the lighthouse could be a good place for a break.

After the lighthouse is where things start to get a little, well, hairy. The cliff really starts to drop off and you are literally one tumble away from going down it, so just pay attention and watch your step. The extremely cliffy (not a word, I know) part is only about .2 miles long, so just put down the Insta story for a minute and concentrate. I would recommend choosing a path that is a little higher, to give you more time to stop and catch yourself if you fall.

After you get past the cliff part, still hugging the coast line, you are pretty much in the clear. I say this with one BIG asterisk. I did this hike in April and it was totally fine, but when I came back in July to do it birds were nesting. Higher up on the mountain is a nest of swifts, which, according to Wikipedia are medium sized birds. That may be true but as they swoop towards you and dive towards you they seem like god damned pterodactyls. It was honestly a bit nerve racking because the birds looked seriously threatening. There is a video on youtube (below) of people that experienced the same thing in the same spot. Just stay low on the coast line and take off any bright clothing.

Here's where you are going...stay low along the coast line because, as you can see this is where we got dive bombed in a terrifying fashion.

This is a video from other hikers capturing the swift attacks….just be aware and also, if you’re near a cliff don’t overreact!

This brings you to your final destination, DRANGARNIR. This was honestly one of my favorite spots to sit and take in the views. You don’t realize just how huge the formations are until they are directly next to you, and it gives you a sense of how small we really are. Also note, this is where I crashed my $800 Mavic Air drone because it was circling me and hit the side of the cliff. It’s a great place to fly the drone because there are no people, but just be mindful of the insane birds and the cliffs. If you want to hear more about the drone crash, just shoot me a comment!

Anyways, that’s the basics on how to get to Drangarnir, complete with pictures from the drone! Oh, and if your ankles hurt from walking on a 35 degree slope, don’t worry, the pain will even out on the way back by putting pressure on the other side of your ankles.

If you have any questions, comments, or important amplifying information please feel free to let me know. Good luck, and I would add this hike to the “MUST DO” list in the Faroes!

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