Digest>Archives> Jan/Feb 2014

Lighthouses of Iceland

By Richard Johnson

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Dyrhólaey Lighthouse (Dyrhólaeyjarviti)

My wife Bev booked a trip to Iceland in February to view the Northern Lights, and since we had never been to Iceland, we did not know what to expect in the middle of winter or what sights we might see. After a direct nighttime flight from Denver to Keflavik and a short bus ride to Reykjavik, we checked into our hotel for a short nap before we left to see some of the sights of Reykjavik with the other members of our group. A short bus ride dropped us alongside the harbor area where within minutes I saw our first Icelandic lighthouse across the water on Engey Island. The Engey Lighthouse is a small square yellow brick harbor light marking the east side of the harbor.

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Garðskagi Lighthouse (Garðskagaviti) & Museum

After a few photos we continued down the waterfront path and spotted the Reykjavík Norðurgarði (north mole) and Reykjavík Ingólfsgarði (south mole) lights at the end of the breakwaters for the main harbor of Reykjavik. These are small square corrugated iron structures that were also painted yellow. Time and distance prevented us from visiting any of the lights, so we continued exploring downtown Reykjavik before returning to our hotel to prepare for the next part of our trip.

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Engey Lighthouse

Early the next morning we caught a shuttle to the Reykjavik airport where we boarded a flight for the town of Akureyri at the end of Eyjafjorðura (a fjord) on the northern side of Iceland. After we checked in at the hotel, we signed up for a local sightseeing trip that would show us many of the local sights including waterfalls, Icelandic farms, volcanic cinder cones, lava formations, thermal fields, and ended with a nighttime dip in the Lake Myvatn thermal pool. The highlight of our sightseeing trip was hopefully to view the northern lights, but unfortunately the evening skies were overcast and we were unable to view any lights. About six miles north of Akureyri, we passed the Svalbarðseyri Lighthouse (Svalbarðseyrarviti). The light was another square stone tower painted yellow-orange, similar to the Engey Island Lighthouse, with a red lantern room and gallery.

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Hjalteyri (Hjalteyrarviti) Lighthouse

The next day we took another tour up the coast to see the local sights, and on the way out of town we again saw the Svalbarðseyri Lighthouse (Svalbarðseyrarviti) across Eyjafjorðura (the fjord). Our first stop was the small fishing village of Hjalteyri, where we visited the abandoned herring factory with the Hjalteyri Lighthouse (Hjalteyrarviti). This was a lovely red skeletal tower that made for wonderful photos of the lighthouse with the snow-covered hills across the fjord in the background. We continued our trip up the Eyjafjorðura, passing numerous farms with the unique Icelandic horse that is an icon of Iceland. After passing through one lane tunnels cut through the mountains, we arrived at the isolated fishing village of Siglufjörður where we visited their maritime museum covering the history of the village during the herring boom. As we entered the second building, we were welcomed by a well-preserved fifth order Fresnel lens from the abandoned Selvíkurnef Lighthouse (Selvíkurnefsviti) across Siglufjörður (another fjord). The Selvíkurnef Lighthouse is another small square stone tower painted yellow orange. After the tour of the museum, we continued up the coast to view the Sauðanes Lighthouse (Sauðanesviti nyrðri) majestically sitting on a cliff on the north coast looking out to Grimsey Island, which straddles the Arctic Circle. Sauðanes Lighthouse is a square concrete tower painted yellow-orange with a red lantern room and gallery rising from one end of a one-story concrete keeper’s house. As the sun was setting we returned down the coast and briefly stopped to get distant photos of Hrólfssker Lighthouse (Hrólfsskersviti), a small, round lighthouse painted yellow-orange with a red lantern room which sits on a rocky outcrop in the middle of the Siglufjörður. The day ended with the tour company giving us a second try at the northern lights and we were gifted with an outstanding 45 minute display of the dancing green lights above the Icelandic countryside.

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Selvogur Lighthouse (Selvogsviti)

The next day we boarded a plane to return to Reykjavik. When we returned to the hotel, the other members of the group signed up to take another sightseeing tour of the sights in southern Iceland, but Bev and I decided to try something different and rented a car to explore on our own. That evening I spent some time locating Icelandic lighthouses on the Internet, and early the next day we walked over to the rental car agency and picked up a four-wheel drive SUV as soon as they opened. The vehicle came with a GPS system, which made the trip a lot easier, and after taking a few minutes to plan our journey we set out to find the lighthouses on this side of Iceland. We began our trip by returning to downtown Reykjavik where we got some closer pictures of Reykjavík Norðurgarði and Reykjavík Ingólfsgarði lights. Next we headed west to Grótta Lighthouse (Gróttuviti) outside Reykjavík. Grótta Lighthouse is a well-maintained round white concrete tower with a red lantern, keeper’s house and other out buildings, and it marks the entrance to the city’s harbor.

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Þorlákshöfn Lighthouse

From Grótta we headed southwest to Cape Garð where we saw the new and old Garðskagi Lighthouses. The original 1897 lighthouse is a red and white stripped square tower attached to a one story equipment room and is located at the north end of Cape Garð. The inactive light now serves as a bird observation platform. Just south of the old lighthouse is the active Garðskagi Lighthouse (Garðskagaviti) which is a tall round white concrete tower with a red lantern and is surrounded by various nautical displays associated with a museum in the keeper’s house. Unfortunately, we were too early to get into the museum and continued on to the next stop. Further south we spotted Reykjanestá Lighthouse (Reykjanes aukaviti), but were only able to get distant photos of the light as it is a long hike over a lava field to the light. It was a small yellow-orange concrete building where the light is shown through a seaside window and is on the extreme southern tip of the Reykjanes peninsula. About a mile northeast of the Reykjanestá Lighthouse we entered a geothermal area where Iceland’s oldest light, the Reykjanes Lighthouse (Reykjanesviti), sits on the top of an inactive volcanic cone with two occupied keeper’s houses directly below it. The active lighthouse is one of the most visited lighthouses in Iceland and is listed as a landfall light for Keflavik and Reykjavík. Both the white cylindrical tower with a red lantern room and keeper’s houses appeared to be in need of some repair. The tower is situated in an active geothermal area with numerous smoke plumes rising from the ground, an active geothermal power plant, and a nature park commemorating the Auk, a large extinct bird that nested in the area.

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Grótta Lighthouse (Gróttuviti)

From there we drove to the town of Grindavík to view the Hópsnes Lighthouse (Hópsnesviti), but were unable to get a clear photo since the weather had become quite foggy and rainy. From what we could see across the harbor and an informational sign, we could tell that it was a small square yellow orange light with red lantern room similar to the Engey and Selvíkurnef Lighthouses. We continued east along the coast, and as the weather improved a little, we spotted the Selvogur Lighthouse (Selvogsviti) sitting in the middle of a pasture outside the village of Selvogur, and then found a small farm road that took us fairly close for a good picture. It is another well-maintained tall square concrete tower that was painted a yellow-orange color with a red lantern. Continuing east, we came to the small fishing town of Þorlákshöfn with the unique Þorlákshöfn Lighthouse (Hafnarnesviti í Þorlákshöfn). We were able to walk out to the three-story square unpainted concrete tower with a lantern in the seaward side of the top floor, and it sits at the entrance to the harbor.

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Hópsnes Lighthouse (Hópsnesviti)

After a quick lunch in Þorlákshöfn, we continued our journey east to our last lighthouse for the day. Along the way we enjoyed glaciers, waterfalls, and many scenic Icelandic farms along the southern coast of Iceland. Shortly before sunset we spotted the top of the Dyrhólaey Lighthouse (Dyrhólaeyjarviti). Dyrhólaey Lighthouse sits on a steep cliff near the southernmost point of Iceland and is located in a nature preserve located in the beautiful rugged sea coast scenery where numerous birds nest in May and June. Dyrhólaey Lighthouse is a square masonry tower with a lantern and gallery rising from the center of a one-story keeper’s cottage. The lighthouse is painted white with a red lantern room and trim. After taking numerous pictures and enjoying the surroundings, we headed back to Reykjavik to meet with the other members of our group and swap stories of our journeys.

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Hrólfssker (Hrólfsskersviti) Lighthouse. ...

The next morning after a brief stop at the Blue Lagoon thermal pools we boarded our plane for the flight to Denver. Who thought that Iceland in February would be so wonderful? The weather was moderate and sometimes rainy, but with enough snow in the north to remind us that we were close to the Arctic Circle. The people were great hosts and communication was easy as everyone spoke English. The scenery was outstanding and we got to see seventeen lighthouses. We are already talking about a return visit during summer to take the road that circles the island to visit more of the many unique lighthouses that Iceland has and to enjoy more of the natural wonders that are all around the island

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Old Garðskagi Lighthouse


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Sauðanes (Sauðanesviti nyrðri) Lighthouse


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Selvíkurnef (Selvíkurnefsviti) Lighthouse


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Reykjavík Norðurgarði (North Mole) Lighthouse


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Reykjanes Lighthouse (Reykjanesviti)


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Siglufjordur museum

This story appeared in the Jan/Feb 2014 edition of Lighthouse Digest Magazine. The print edition contains more stories than our internet edition, and each story generally contains more photographs - often many more - in the print edition. For subscription information about the print edition, click here.

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