Gásadalur is a village that, if fairy tales existed in real life, they would be set here. Aside from a waterfall cascading a few hundred feet into the ocean, the village is set at the basin of a beautiful, lush valley. With only a handful of houses, it was pretty much secluded from the rest of the islands until 2004, when a tunnel was blasted to connect it to the rest of the island. Gásadalur is the perfect day trip; complete with a café, hikes, and even the occasional puffin.

One way to get to Gásadalur is to hike over the mountain from Bour. This is how, in the old days before the tunnel, people and supplies reached the village. Think about this as you drink down a beer at the café and look up at the mountain. You can get more details on the hike below, but I haven’t done it so I honestly can’t tell you about it:

https://visitfaroeislands.com/place/boeur-gasadalur/

Here's what I’d recommend instead. Drive down to the village through the tunnel and use the parking area visible here:

Parking area, with both options for hikes

There are public bathrooms for use, but also you can stop by Café Fjorooy and grab a piece of delicious carrot cake and also use the bathrooms. I’ll review the café separately, but between the carrot cake, Slupp beers, carrot soup, and salmon, it was one of the best bets outside of Torshavn for getting a decent meal. The view over the ocean is incredible, and on a nice day there is really no reason not to grab another drink.

There are several small hikes you can do around the village. One path takes you down to a small bridge overlooking the waterfall, then up along the cliffs edge and back around to the village. In total, it might take 45 minutes to walk but there is a beautiful bench near the top of the path that I recommend sitting on and taking in the views.

Another path is shown below, but will give you the iconic view of Mulafossar that you’ve probably seen on google images or Instagram. Stop here, take it in, but then continue down the path towards the stairs and ocean. As you continue towards the stairs you will, at one point fell like you could be walking directly off the edge of the Earth. Just take it slow and make your way down the stairs. You’ll get an incredible additional view of Mulafossar, and even catch a few puffins as seen below.

On a windy day, you can watch the waterfall whip in the wind, and at one point we watched the waterfall not even make it to the ocean for 30 seconds at a time. You could probably even bring lunch with you and picnic down on the rocks by the ocean. NOTE: technically you aren’t supposed to walk down the stairs, but it is more of a precaution. Just be careful going down the steps.

One other magical thing about Gasadular is a dog named Flinka, pictured below. She’s a border collie that, to my knowledge, is the only dog known to man that likes to play fetch with stones. She loved humans and was EXTREMELY playful, so if you see her toss her the stone and she’ll bring it back to you.

I realize this isn’t much of a “hike” review, but Gasadular is so much more than just hiking. It’s an easy afternoon that will make you reconsider what you’re doing with your life. Several times, our group asked ourselves if we should be living the small town life, away from the worries of the world.

If you’ve got any more questions about Gasadular, please fell free to email or comment below! Please follow @keithrhollis or @faroelislandstourist for more reviews of hikes and features of the Faroe Islands!