Husavik Panoramic View

Húsavík lies directly below, strung along the shore with the harbour at one end. Behind the town the valley runs inland, and past the roofs Skjálfandi bay opens out, with mountains along its far side. Town, valley and bay are all in one view, and that is the whole reason the pull-off exists.

After dark the same spot is used for the northern lights. You are above the town, so its lights sit below you rather than in the sky you are watching. There is no platform and nothing built here — you stand where you parked and look north-west.

• Aurora needs real darkness: Húsavík has midnight sun from 11 to 29 June, and around those weeks the sky never goes properly dark.
• Short winter days: on 21 December Húsavík gets 2 hours 45 minutes of daylight, so the daytime panorama is a narrow window.
• No facilities: no toilets, no drinking water and no information point anywhere near the viewpoint.
• Dress for standing still: aurora watching means long spells outside without moving, and that is far colder than walking.

Getting here means driving. The road climbs onto the high ground south-east of Húsavík, and the car park is at the viewpoint itself, so there is nothing left to walk. No bus comes up from the town; the nearest stop is down in Húsavík. The viewpoint works best folded into a drive rather than as a destination on its own.

Better: a clear, dark night outside midsummer for the aurora, and any clear day for the view over the town.

Avoid: mid-June. Húsavík has midnight sun from 11 to 29 June, so the sky stays light and there is no aurora to wait for.

Winter reverses the trade-off. On 21 December Húsavík gets 2 hours 45 minutes of daylight: the panorama is a short window and the dark hours are long.