The Vestmanna Bird Cliffs

West of Vestmanna the coast of Streymoy rises straight out of the Atlantic in cliffs that reach several hundred metres, and the only way to see them properly is from a boat. The tours run out along the wall of rock, nose into narrow grottoes and sea caves where the swell echoes, and pass under overhangs where the water drips green. In the nesting months the ledges are packed with guillemots, razorbills, fulmars and kittiwakes, and puffins whir past low over the water. Sheep graze impossible-looking grass shelves high above, put there by farmers who once lowered themselves on ropes to catch birds and gather eggs. The boats are small and open enough to feel the scale of the place, which no photograph conveys.

What you actually see

• The sea grottoes - narrow caves the boats edge into between the cliffs.
• Nesting seabird ledges - guillemots, razorbills, fulmars and kittiwakes in summer.
• Puffins - whirring low over the water near the cliff bases.
• The grazing shelves - sheep on grass ledges high on the cliff faces.

When to go

May to August, when the seabirds are on the cliffs and the sea is calmest. Trips are cancelled in rough weather at any time of year, and the birds leave the ledges by late summer.

Honest expectations

This is entirely weather-dependent: swell and wind cancel the boats regularly, and the open sea off western Streymoy can be genuinely rough, so seasickness is common. Outside the summer nesting window the cliffs are impressive but empty of birds. It is cold and wet on the water even on a fine day, and waterproofs are essential.

Nearby

Saksun's turf-roofed village lies north; Tórshavn is 40 minutes away.