Flateyjardalur Valley

Flateyjardalur is a long, near-straight valley on the Flateyjarskagi peninsula in northeast Iceland, running about 33 km down to the north coast by Skjálfandi bay and facing the small island of Flatey it is named after. Five farms once worked here; the last family left in the 1950s, and the valley has stood empty since. Green meadows, ruined farmsteads and a lone cemetery lie between steep, snow-streaked mountains, reached only in summer by a rough 4x4 track over the heath.