Borgarfjörður eystri is a fjord on the east coast of Iceland, in the municipality of Múlaþing. The one settlement is Bakkagerði, and the area had 91 inhabitants in 2024. Hiking is the main reason people come, and the fjord also holds a large puffin colony. The name comes from Álfaborg, the elf rock above the village. The church keeps a Kjarval painting of the crucifixion set on an elf hill, which the local bishop has refused to bless. The film Heartstone was shot here.
Borgarfjörður eystri
- Currency
- Icelandic króna (ISK)
- Language
- Icelandic; nearly all speak English
- Power plug
- Europlug and Schuko sockets, 230 V
- Visa
- Schengen; outside the EU
- Time zone
- UTC±00:00 (Atlantic/Reykjavik)
- Tap water
- Safe; hot water smells of sulphur
- Tipping
- Not customary
- Emergency
- 112
Things to do
All tours in East Iceland on GetYourGuide
Paid links: booking through them supports YowJourney.
When to go
Shoulder
May – May
Snow still lies on the higher ground above the fjord, so the longer walks are unreliable. Daylight is already long enough for full days outdoors, and the village is quiet.
High season
Jun – Aug
The hiking season, and the only busy weeks of the year in a settlement of about 91 people. At this latitude the sun barely sets. The music festival falls in these months and draws a crowd many times the local population.
Shoulder
Sep – Oct
The trails empty out and daylight shortens week by week. Autumn weather on the east coast makes long walks a gamble.
Low season
Nov – Apr
Little daylight and winter weather on the roads in. Hiking, the main reason to come, is out of season, and there is not much else to fill a day here.
How long to stay
One full day covers the village and its set pieces: Álfaborg, the church with the Kjarval painting, Kjarvalsstofa and the puffin colony. Walkers need more. Hiking is the main reason to come here, so allow two or three days if trails are the point of the trip. Anyone arriving for the summer music festival should count the festival days plus a night on either side, because the village is small and turning up and leaving the same day wastes the journey.
Getting around
A car is the only practical way in. Iceland has no railways, and the fjord has no airport, so everything arrives by road from elsewhere in east Iceland. Distances inside the destination are short. Bakkagerði is the only settlement, and it can be crossed on foot in a few minutes. Beyond the village there is no local transport to speak of: hiking is what people come for, and the walking starts from the village itself. The winter caveat is a hard one. Storms close roads across east Iceland, and there is no way around a closure. Check road conditions before setting out between November and April.
What to see
Destinations in Borgarfjörður eystri
Frequently asked questions
What is Álfaborg?
The rock above the village, and the source of the fjord's name. Some locals hold that the queen of the elves lives in it.Where do visitors actually stay?
Bakkagerði, the main and only settlement in the fjord. Borgarfjörður eystri belongs to the municipality of Múlaþing, and the whole area had 91 inhabitants in 2024.What is unusual about the church?
It holds a painting by Jóhannes Sveinsson Kjarval showing Jesus on the cross on an elf hill. The local bishop has refused to bless the painting because of it.What is Kjarvalsstofa?
A museum in Bakkagerði devoted to Jóhannes Sveinsson Kjarval, the painter who grew up in the area.Is there a music festival?
Yes, held in summer every year since 2004. Attendance passed 2,000 in the summer of 2009, far more than the fjord's own population.