Exploring Mykines

Oda, who was our guide on the hike to the Mykines lighthouse, was going to take us on another hike today. The plan was to hike to the summit of knúkur, the highest mountain on Mykines. It was a beautiful clear day as we set off from the village on a gentle elevation. In front of us was open air with the wind blowing around.

It reminded me of hiking in Patagonia with the similar gale - like winds. Although, I would say Patagonia had much stronger winds. Looking back towards the village, you got a nice view of the slanting slopes of the islet of Mykineshólmur in the distance. We hiked for over an hour before we stopped to have some sandwiches by the small river Mykines.

After our break, Ashley, Cindy and Janneke decided not to continue further and headed back down to the village. Oda, Chris and myself continued on hiking up against the blowing wind. We then came to a very steep and rocky valley that we had to climb around the edge.

There was an avalanche of rocks all the way down the valley and we had to climb across them to get to the other side. This was not the hiking trail you should take and was pretty dangerous if any of us fell. It felt adventurous going off the beaten track and luckily the three of us was careful as we navigated the sea of rocks to the other side.

On 26th of September 1970 a plane got lost on the way to Vágar airport, and crashed into the foggy mountain Knúkur. There were 34 passengers were on board the plane when it crashed. You can see s stone monument commemorating the accident in Mykines church.

We continued further up towards the Radio beacon and telecommunications tower. We followed the large cables that were running up and a little further on from the tower we reached the summit. Boy did it not disappoint! The winds were gale like here. At the summit you got a perfect view of the rest of the island along with Vágar island in the distance. We were lucky to have great weather to see all the way to Vágar.

The summit viewpoint gave a great perspective of the curved sloped island, with high ridges to the left that formed some amazing costal cliffs. It was so windy it was too dangerous to stand close to the cliff edge, so I had to lie down to get some photos. Odaandresen was scared the wind was blowing so hard that I would be blown off the edge so she grabbed onto my feet 😀  

We slowly made our way back down to the village, the wind blowing behind us to help us down. The path we took down was close to the cliff edge and so we got some amazing views. Mykines has some of the most amazing coastal cliffs I have seen in my travels.

This whole island is unique, unspoilt beauty. I hope for the future that the nature here does not get damaged by too many tourists visiting.

Along with being our hiking guide for the 2 days, Oda was also our B&B host. Her guesthouse was like a time capsule to the past. The furniture and decorations from the 1895, gave a cozy feel to the place. She is also an amazing cook. If you come and stay I hope you get a chance to try her splendid fish soup with peach.

This trek was a marvellous surprise. I was not expecting it to be so adventurous half way up. The highlight being the curved valley that we had to cross which added an element of adventure to an otherwise moderate hike. Please bear in mind that the weather can get very foggy and unpredictable so come prepared with layers to strip on and off. A wind proof jacket will help protect against the chill of the wind and light gloves to keep warm.

I thoroughly recommend Oda as your guide and host. As someone who was born in the Faroe Islands, she has the local knowledge and passion to show you around Mykines. Photos with me provided by: Chris Eyre Walker