Stóraklif & Heimaklettur

Heimaey


The top of the craggy precipice Stóraklif is a treacherous 30-minute climb from behind the N1 petrol station at the harbour. The trail starts on the obvious 4WD track; as it gets steeper you’re ‘assisted’ by ropes and chains (but don’t trust them completely). If you can bear the terror, you'll get outstanding views. Further out on the pier, Heimaklettur is more perilous, with wild rickety ladders. Both are top puffin-breeding grounds. When rainy, slick or windy, neither is a good idea.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Heimaey attractions

1. Sæheimar

0.33 MILES

The Aquarium & Natural History Museum has an interesting collection of stuffed birds and animals, videos on puffins and catfish, and fish tanks of…

2. Herjólfsdalur

0.49 MILES

Sheltered by an extinct volcano, green and grassy Herjólfsdalur was the home of Vestmannaeyjar's first settler, Herjólfur Barðursson. Excavations have…

3. Public Park

0.57 MILES

A nice square to come and eat a picnic or relax in on sunny days. It has a children's play area, including a very fun permanent bouncy trampoline.

4. Sagnheimar Byggðasafn

0.59 MILES

Housed in the city library, this interactive folk museum tells the story of Heimaey from the era of marauding pirates up to the 1973 eruption and beyond…

5. Landskirkja

0.64 MILES

The lava from Heimaey's historic explosion stopped just short of the Landskirkja in the middle of town. The church’s carved wooden doors feature scenes…

6. Skansinn

0.66 MILES

This lovely green area by the sea has several unique historical sights. The oldest structure on the island, Skansinn was a 15th-century fort built to…

7. Stafkirkjan

0.69 MILES

The bitumen-coated Stafkirkjan is a reconstruction of a medieval wooden stave church (the exact design of the Holtdalen stave church in Trondheim, Norway)…

8. Landlyst

0.71 MILES

Shockingly, three out of four of Heimaey’s babies once died of tetanus, due to water deficiency and contaminated soil. In the 1840s an island woman,…

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