Nestled into a crevice on one of the many feathers of land jutting into the Norwegian Sea, Siglufjörður, Iceland, while not the northernmost town in the country, certainly comes close. Located at the tip of the Tröllaskagi Peninsula, this tiny community lies only 25 miles from the Arctic Circle.
Often ignored by those who tour Iceland via the Ring Road, Siglufjörður is a worthwhile detour for those who like the quirky, mystical, and slightly spooky side of Iceland. With a population of only around 1,200 permanent inhabitants, Siglufjörður feels like a world away from everything in a country that, itself, already feels like a world away. Perhaps not the best choice for those who need a lot of choice, Siglufjörður calls to those who prefer the more quiet side of Iceland.
Outdoor art abounds (Photo by Dana Zartner)
Two Roads Diverge: Taking the Western Route to Siglufjörður, Iceland
In the summer, there are two ways into Siglufjörður (pronounced Sik-loo-fyor-thur, or Sigló for short): up the western side or the eastern side of the peninsula, as mountains dominate the space in the interior of Tröllaskagi. Both routes are breathtaking, but the scenery and atmosphere are very different, and it is worth completing the circle.
My approach to deciding which way to go in Iceland is largely determined by two factors. The first is wanting to drive on the inner lane along the mountain roads, rather than the side by the cliffs that fall to the churning waters below. The second is wanting to have the right-of-way in the one lane tunnels, so I don’t have to stress about pulling over when I see headlights in the distance (except when it is a big truck, then you have to pull over regardless of which side you are on). Given these parameters, my preference is to take the western route up to Siglufjörður.
Fishing boats (Photo by Dana Zartner)
But First Stop for an Icelandic Treat
The journey starts by turning left off Highway 1 (the Ring Road) onto State Highway 76 just past the town of Varmahlíð, which is a great place to gas up the car and grab an Icelandic hot dog and some salted licorice before heading north. Many people don’t think about Iceland as a culinary destination, but the cuisine boasts some interesting specialties, including the aforementioned Icelandic hot dog.
While it is absolutely worth trying a dog from one of the stands in Reykjavik, gas stations all along the Ring Road also serve up this delicacy. Made from a combination of lamb, pork, and beef the dog is then topped with raw onions, a creamy, remoulade-like sauce, sweet mustard, and crunchy, fried onions (think the topping on green bean casserole at Thanksgiving).
Along with your hot dog, also grab a few bags of one of Iceland’s other specialties – salted black licorice. Icelanders love their licorice and the salted variety, sometimes in the shape of a fish (salte fisk), makes for good car munching. Just know that salte fisk can also refer to the salted, dried fish that is ubiquitous in Iceland, so make sure you are getting the candy, not the cod.
Icelandic hot dog (Photo by Del Zartner)
No People in Sight, But Lots of Icelandic Horses
Heading north into Tröllaskagi, it is easy to feel the isolation that Iceland can offer. The Ring Road does not even come close to moderately crowded freeways in the U.S., but there are, at least, other cars and the occasional town or rest area. Driving up the 76, you are often the only person on the road, meandering at first through a landscape of green fields with the ocean on your left and the mountains on your right. While there are a few towns along the way, they are not visible from the road, though the occasional farm house will make an appearance.
What you do find along this route, however, are horses: herds of beautiful, Icelandic horses. Smaller in size, but sturdy with long manes and fluffy tails, Icelandic horses are well-adapted to the ever-changing climate of this island. Through long journeys with few other humans visible, the horses become a touchstone that there are, in fact, other living creatures on this peninsula.
At the family-run Langhús Horse Farm (Photo by Dana Zartner)
Up Close and Personal with the Icelandic Horses of Langhús
For those who want to spend some time with these majestic creatures, a stop at the family-run Langhús Horse Farm is a must. Situated about halfway through the drive to Siglufjörður, Langhús offers the opportunity to experience the wild beauty of this challenging landscape via horseback and learn about the natural ecosystem that calls this remote corner of the world home. Perched on the edge of the sea, Langhús is a family place, run by Lukka and Laki, along with their sons Heimir and Orri.
According to Lukka, Icelandic horses have been a “huge part of Iceland’s culture” throughout its history, and spending time
with these majestic creatures is a way for visitors to “immerse themselves in Iceland’s core”. Lukka also emphasizes that the horses really are adapted to the climate and love to be outdoors all year around, even in the harsher winter months.
Icelandic horses (Photo by Dana Zartner)
The Menacing Mountains of Tröllaskagi
A stop at Langhús is also a good point to gather your wits about you for the final leg of the journey, which takes you up and around the tip of Tröllaskagi. Shortly after rejoining State Road 76 out of the Langhús driveway, you are forced to turn left because the only thing in front of you is the looming mountains.
There really is no other way to describe it, the mountains in Iceland loom. Their snow-capped peaks, even in the summer, create almost a feeling of oppression as you drive up and up along the narrow road sandwiched between the steep slopes on one side and a drop to the icy waters of the Norwegian Sea on the other. The scenery is stunning, but a tickling sensation of … menace almost … followed me on this last leg of the journey. But menace in a good way, if that is possible, like when you enjoy scaring yourself watching a horror movie.
The feeling makes sense, in a way, as Tröllaskagi peninsula did get its name from legends that these mountains are trolls frozen in stone; trolls known for dragging ships ashore and preying on anyone who dared wander too close. And whether it was these legends playing in my mind, the fact that the weather moved from sunny to overcast to rainy within the span of a few miles, or my moderate fear of heights, I found myself gripping the steering wheel more tightly than needed. As I rounded the tip of the peninsula and started down the other side, I could have almost sworn the mountains were stalking me, like one of those portraits where the eyes seem to follow you as you move around the room.
(Photo by Dana Zartner)
Setting Sights on Siglufjörður
Passing through a very short tunnel carved into the mountain and starting down the slope on the other side of Tröllaskagi, it is almost a relief to see Siglufjörður slowly emerge from the mists. Medium-sized by Icelandic standards, with a harbor full of fishing boats and colorful buildings shining through the dark skies, the town welcomes you the moment it comes into view. According to Lukka from Langhús, arriving in Sigló is like “being hugged by the mountains that surround them”; a very different feeling from the drive over the pass.
Settled in the mid-1800s as the herring industry developed, Sigló was officially granted municipality status in 1918. For the first half of the 20th century, the town grew continuously, reaching its peak of 3,000 residents in 1950.
The decline of the herring industry in the 1970s, however, caused many people to leave Siglufjörður for opportunities elsewhere. Today, fishing remains a key industry, though on a much smaller scale, and residents have been working to develop alternatives, including building up tourism.
Siglo (Photo by Dana Zartner)
Local Experiences and Quiet Reflection
For those who like to fill their days hopping from one tourist spot to the next, need a wide variety of restaurants, or a bustling nightlife scene, Siglufjörður is probably not for you. But, if you want quiet days of walking, reflecting, and chatting over coffee and one of the signature Icelandic donuts at Aðalbakarí, the town bakery, or sampling one of the local beers brewed at Segull 67, then you will love this town as I did.
Coffee and Iclelandic donuts (Photo by Dana Zartner)
While the eerie feeling of the looming mountains did stay with me to some extent – and in fact is hard to shake when you look up at the avalanche barriers on the steep hillside above the town – Sigló offers the opportunity to just be and give yourself the chance to absorb a little bit of what it is like to live in one of the northernmost parts of the world. A morning spent sitting on a picnic table near the harborside buildings painted in the primary colors of red, yellow, and blue, watching the fishing boats come and go, creates a calm presence of place that soothes the soul.
Boats and colorful harbor houses (Photo by Dana Zartner)
A History of Herring
While wandering and pondering is what Siglufjörður is made for, there are a few cultural attractions for the visitor to partake in. The Herring Museum provides an illustrative journey through the history of what was once the town’s most important industry. According to Gabríela Rún, Marketing Manager at the beautiful Sigló Hotel, the town still “carries this quiet echo of its herring era” when it was a bustling port. Now, she says, “it’s much calmer, almost peaceful, and that contrast adds to the mystic feeling.”
The Herring Museum (Photo by Del Zartner)
Making Beautiful Music
At the Icelandic Folk Music Center, you might get lucky and hear the guide play the fiðla, a traditional stringed instrument. Also, if your timing is right, you can visit Sigló during the Icelandic Folk Music Festival, which often happens in July.
The Folk Music Center (Photo by Dana Zartner)
Sipping at Segull 67 Brewery
Segull 67 Beer (Photo courtesy of Segull 67)
During a visit to family-owned Segull 67 Brewery, owner Marteinn Haraldsson – a proud local, born and raised in Siglufjörður – may take you on a tour with a tasting of their changing roster of beers.
Marteinn highlights how Segull uses as many local ingredients as possible, starting with spring water “fresh from the snowy mountains” surrounding the town. A fact which, when you taste the beer, makes the mountains seem a little more friendly. Though Marteinn does agree that, “especially when it is windy and dark”, Siglufjörður has a mysterious air about it.
A Marvelous Moroccan Meal
Local ingredients are also a theme at one of the town’s biggest surprises: Moroccan cuisine at Siglunes restaurant. Run by Chefs Jaouad Hbib and Amina Saleh, the restaurant cooks with what is available every month, shaping an ever-changing menu that combines Icelandic fish, lamb, and produce such as carrots, turnips, and kale, with Moroccan spices.
While tagines dominate the menu, a variety of other dishes are available, including the incredible Moroccan pastilla filled with whatever is fresh that day. Siglunes is an example of the kind of unexpected delights you can find throughout Iceland, even in its more remote areas.
Strolling Through the Silence
After dinner, a stroll through Siglufjörður reflects nighttime stillness with daytime light, as the sun never truly sets here in the summer. You can easily walk the entire town in a few hours, venturing from the port, up the hillside to the white-walled church topped with the traditional red roof. With the fishing trawlers moored for the night and no bars or clubs to speak of, the silence reigns supreme; fitting for a town alone on the northern fjords.
View after the tunnels (Photo by Dana Zartner)
Taking the Tunnels
Leaving Siglufjörður via State Road 76 down the eastern side of the peninsula is an entirely different vibe than the mountainous path to the west. While one of two options in the summer, this 50 mile stretch of road is often the only connection between Sigló and the Ring Road in the harsher winter months.
This lifeline to the south is possible due to the two Héðinsfjarðargöng tunnels, which opened in 2010. The two tunnels run under the mountains for a combined distance of 6.6 miles, offering a different sense of spookiness for those who can imagine that you are now driving through the trolls’ lair. There is no denying, however, that the tunnels make the trip back to the Ring Road significantly easier, and because they are both two-lane tunnels, there is not the stress about who has the right-of-way as there is with their single lane counterparts.
Emerging from the dark, you are greeted with an expansive view of the Héðinsfjörður fjord and Sigló’s sister community of Ólafsfjörður, another former herring town that is now building a reputation as a hub for sports and outdoor adventures.
(Photo by Dana Zartner)
Bathing in Beer
After Ólafsfjörður, the landscape flattens out and you can meander along the fjord, stopping along to try and spot some of the whales that live in these waters. A few miles on, the small village of Árskógssandur offers one of the most unique experiences of a Siglufjörður sojourn: the beer spa.
Icelanders love their beer and even small towns have their own breweries. But Bjórböðin Beer Spa takes it one step further. The Beer Bath Ritual begins with a soak in the outdoor hot pot, a tub of natural thermal water with breathtaking views out over the fjord.
After a stop in the outdoor sauna, you are shown to your private room containing a keg with a beer tap and a wooden tub filled to the brim with a hot, foamy, healing mixture of warm water, live beer yeast, young beer, hops, and bath salts and oils. The smell is sweet and tangy, and the addition of the beer and other ingredients in the water creates a very silky feel in your tub.
All of the ingredients are thought to have healthful properties, from the minerally mountain spring water from Sólarfjall, to vitamin-rich yeast, and the calming properties of hops. And the best part, while you soak in your beer bath, you have your own tap pouring cold beer from the Bruggsmiðjan Kaldi Brewery right next door, so you to sip as you soak. And if the beer gets warm before you finish it, just dump it into the tub and refill.
After your bath, relax in the Quiet Room and reflect on the unique experience of visiting Siglufjörður and the spectacular and spooky Tröllaskagi peninsula at the top of this little corner of the world.
Soaking at the Beer Spa (Photo by Dana Zartner)
For More:
- Visit Iceland, tourism
- On our site: 5 Breathtaking National Parks in Europe
- On our site: Living with a Family of Sami Reindeer Herders
-All photos credited. Cover photo by Del Zartner.
