Bjolfur Mountain Avalanche Barriers

The barriers are avalanche defences built across the mountainside above Seyðisfjörður. Beside them is a terrace, and that terrace is what people climb for: the view from it opens out over the fjord. This is engineering, not a natural feature, and the walk ends at the structure itself. A mountain road runs up from the town and doubles as the walking route. The climb is long, the ground is not technical, and ordinary walkers manage it.

• Weather decides everything. In good conditions an ordinary car climbs the mountain road; in bad ones the drive becomes a four-wheel-drive job.
• Set aside a morning or an afternoon. The climb, the time on the terrace and the descent fill several hours.
• Ordinary walkers manage the route. It is a long climb on a mountain road, not technical ground.
• No bus goes up the mountain. The nearest stops are down in Seyðisfjörður; the rest is driving or walking.

Seyðisfjörður lies at the foot of the mountain, and a road climbs from the town up to the barriers. In good weather an ordinary car will get up it. Without four-wheel drive, leave the car at the entrance to the mountain road and walk from there; the same road serves as the walking route to the top.

Best: a clear, settled day.

Avoid: poor weather.

The view over the fjord from the terrace is the reason to make the climb, and the mountain road is only fit for an ordinary car when conditions are good.