Borgarfjordur Eystri

Borgarfjordur eystri is a small fjord on the east coast with one village, Bakkagerdi, and two reasons to make the drive. At Hafnarholmi, a rocky islet beside the harbour, a wooden stairway and viewing platform put you a few metres from a puffin colony, closer and more reliably than almost anywhere else in the country; the birds are ashore from about April to mid-August. Behind the fjord stand the Dyrfjoll, a ridge with a deep notch cut into it, and the walk into Storurd, a boulder field with clear green meltwater pools beneath the peaks, is one of the better day hikes in the east.

What you actually see

• Hafnarholmi - the harbour islet with a stairway and platform beside the puffin burrows.
• Dyrfjoll - the notched ridge behind the fjord, visible from the pass on the drive in.
• Storurd - a boulder field with clear green pools, reached on a day walk from the pass.
• Bakkagerdi - the small village at the head of the fjord, the base for the area.

When to go

May to mid-August for puffins. The Storurd walk usually clears of snow by early July and stays good into September. The mountain road over the pass is maintained but can close in winter storms. Evenings at the harbour are quiet once the day traffic has left, and the light on the ridge is better then.

Honest expectations

The road in crosses an exposed pass and weather can shut it at short notice. Once the puffins leave in August the main draw is gone. Storurd is a five to six hour walk with a real climb and no facilities on the route. Services in the village are minimal and most close outside the summer months.

Nearby

Egilsstadir and the Lagarfljot lake lie over the pass, with Seydisfjordur to the south.