Westfjords

Vestfirðir is the least-developed and least-visited inhabited part of Iceland: the Ring Road bypasses it entirely, and most roads here trace the shoreline in and out of every fjord, so a short hop on the map can be a long drive. The season is effectively late May to September, when the high roads are open. Ísafjörður, with about 3,000 people, is the main town and the base for services and boats — including the ferry to Hornstrandir, an uninhabited, roadless nature reserve in the far north reached only on foot. Dynjandi, the region's tallest waterfall at 100 metres, fans out like a bridal veil over Arnarfjörður, with a 15-minute climb past smaller falls. At the westernmost tip, the Látrabjarg cliffs are one of Europe's biggest seabird colonies, with puffins nesting from late April to August; nearby Rauðisandur is a long beach whose sand glows red and gold from crushed shells, shifting with the light.