The Journey from Valagil to Bolungarvik

Our trusty local weather website, vedur.is, had forecast a lovely day and we could not have been more grateful as we had planned a hike that morning and a visit to the famous Bolafjall viewpoint in the afternoon.

The Valagil hike was a short 30-minute drive from Ísafjörður, so had ample time to prepare that morning before hitting the road.

The Valagil Hike

Valagil

After passing through the charming village of Súðavík with its famous church, we arrived at the Valagil parking lot around 11:30AM. From the parking lot, we noticed a waterfall in the distance on the mountain flank, thinking it might be the one from the hiking trail, but it wasn’t. We didn't reach viewing distance of the Valagil canyon and waterfall the last moment, after walking for about 45 minutes.

The 4 km round trip hike was pleasant and no trouble at all. There was almost no elevation and the trail meandered through a lush green valley, crossing several small streams. After walking about 2 km, we found the waterfall at the end of a small canyon to the right. A small wooden bridge let us cross to the other side for a better view of the falls.

The area was incredibly peaceful, hidden from the world, so we decided to have a picnic right at the base of the waterfall before heading back in the early afternoon.

The Bolafjall Viewpoint

Bolafjall

In the afternoon, we made our way toward the Bolungarvík village and took our time exploring at our leisure. The village was known for two main points of interest:

The Osvör Museum
The Bolafjall Viewing Platform

Bolafjall is a 638-meter-high mountain that overlooks the village. The dirt trail leading up to it was stunning but also steep and frankly dizzying in places. A viewing platform was constructed at the top in recent years, offering a 360° panorama of the fjords, from Ísafjörður all the way to Hornstrandir.

The view was truly breathtaking, the fjords on the horizon crystal clear over the sun-dappled seawater. The small platform extended over the void, which made for a thrilling experience as you approached the edge of the sheer drop!

Around 6PM, we decided to head back to Ísafjörður’s town center for dinner as we had a long day of driving ahead of us the next day.