Hellnar View Point

The viewpoint sits on the edge of an old fishing port. Hellnar was the busiest fishing centre on Snæfellsnes, and the oldest written record of it as a port dates from 1560. The census of 1703 counted 194 inhabitants. What draws people now is the shore below. Basalt cliffs, sea arches and islets break up the water, and there are birds everywhere — on the rocks, on the water, in the air. Seals come in close. Among the rock formations is Valasnös, a cliff that pushes out into the sea, with a cave tunnelled into it whose colours change with the daylight and the movement of the water.

• Wind: the coast is exposed and the wind gets up in the afternoon, hard enough to make walking around unpleasant.
• Birds: seabirds gather on the cliffs, the islets and the water below, so bring binoculars if you have them.
• Coastal path: the Arnarstapi–Hellnar path links the two villages along the shore and passes here.
• Nearby: Hellnar Church stands in the village, worth a stop on the way in or out.

The viewpoint is reached by road, on the way down into Hellnar, and there is a car park at the site. From the top a path leads down to the rocks and the beach below; in fair weather the descent is easy. The coastal path between Hellnar and Arnarstapi runs along this shore, so the viewpoint also serves as a start or a finish for that walk.

Better: clear, calm days, when the descent to the beach is easy and the whole sweep of coast is open.

Avoid: windy afternoons.

Wind is the deciding factor here. It gets up in the afternoon and can make it hard to walk around or to hold a camera steady. On a still day people sit in the grass at the top and watch the birds on the islets.