Latrabjarg

Latrabjarg is a wall of cliffs running roughly fourteen kilometres along the western end of the Westfjords, rising to about 440 metres at its highest, and it marks the westernmost point of the country. In June and July the ledges hold large numbers of guillemots, razorbills, fulmars and kittiwakes, and puffins burrow into the turf right at the cliff top, where they are used to people and often ignore them entirely. A rough path follows the edge from the lighthouse car park. The drop is undercut in places, so the safe approach is to stay well back and let the birds come to the rim.

The landscape

• Puffins at the rim - burrows in the turf at the cliff top, occupied from late spring to early August.
• The seabird ledges - guillemots, razorbills and kittiwakes packed onto the rock faces.
• The cliff path - a rough trail along the edge climbing towards the highest sections.
• The lighthouse - the small station at the road end marking the westernmost point.

When to go

June and early July are the peak, with the birds present in the largest numbers and daylight almost round the clock. Most seabirds leave by mid-August and the cliffs go quiet. Evening light is best for photographs. The gravel road is unpleasant in poor weather and impassable at times in winter.

Good to know

The drive is long, slow and on washboard gravel, and it is a dead end, so you cover it twice. The cliff edge overhangs and there are no railings anywhere. Wind and fog are frequent. Outside the nesting weeks there is very little to see.

Nearby

Raudisandur beach and Patreksfjordur lie back along the same road.

Key facts