Eldey

Eldey stands about 15 kilometres off the tip of Reykjanes, a flat-topped stack of tuff roughly 77 metres high with vertical sides on every face. The top holds a northern gannet colony of some tens of thousands of birds, among the largest anywhere, and from a distance the summit reads white with them. The island's other significance is bleaker: on 3 June 1844 the last confirmed breeding pair of great auks was killed here and the egg they were incubating was broken, which is generally taken as the end of the species. Eldey was protected in 1940. Landing requires a permit and the sea state almost never allows it; the island is watched by camera instead.

What's there

• A 77 metre stack with vertical sides - flat topped and unclimbable without ropes.
• Tens of thousands of gannets - one of the world's largest colonies.
• Where the great auk ended - the last confirmed pair killed in June 1844.
• Protected since 1940 - landing by permit only, almost never granted.

When to go

April to August while the colony is occupied. An hour at the viewpoint.

Good to know

You will almost certainly see this from land at fifteen kilometres, so binoculars or a long lens are the difference between a shape and a colony. Boat trips run rarely and depend entirely on sea state. The viewpoint cliffs are exposed and unfenced.

Nearby

Valahnukamol faces it across the water; Gunnuhver is minutes inland.

Key facts