Hestur

Hestur, the horse, is a small island south of Streymoy with a single village of a few dozen people on its sheltered eastern side and a wall of cliffs on the west running to over four hundred metres. Sea caves cut into that western face, and summer boat trips go into them, including one large enough that concerts have been held inside it. Freshwater lakes sit on the island's spine above the village.

Background

The island covers 6.1 km2 and rises to 421 m. It had 16 residents on 29 April 2025, all in the one village on the east coast, which looks across to Gamlarætt and Velbastaður on Streymoy. Four small lakes lie on the northern moorland, the largest being Fagradalsvatn, and a lighthouse stands at Hælur, the southern tip. BirdLife International lists the coastline as an Important Bird Area for breeding seabirds, with 25,000 pairs of Atlantic puffins, 5000 pairs of European storm petrels and 50 pairs of black guillemots. On 1 April 1919 two village fishing boats were lost in a storm and 11 men died. Since 1 January 2005 Hestur has belonged to the municipality of Tórshavn.

Source: Wikipedia, "Hestur"

Highlights

• The western cliffs - a wall running to over four hundred metres on the exposed side.
• The sea caves - caves cut into the cliff face, entered by boat in summer.
• The concert cave - the chamber large enough to have held performances.
• The hill lakes - freshwater lakes on the island's spine.

When to go

June to August for the boat trips; they need calm water and are cancelled often. The ferry runs year round but sparsely. Winter is very quiet.

Things to know

Boat trips into the caves depend entirely on swell and are cancelled frequently. The island has almost no facilities. Ferry timetables are sparse and easy to be caught out by.

Nearby

Koltur is west, and Torshavn is northeast.

Key facts