Gatklettur
Gatklettur is a landscape in West Iceland, Iceland — about 193 km from Reykjavik and reached by a drive to the trailhead and a short walk in (footwear and weather check). Shoot it year-round, though winter wind, ice, and short daylight rework the shot list, then use the GPS coordinates, parking notes, and nearby waypoints below to fold this stop into a longer photography route.
Access restriction
Gatklettur sits inside the 1.34 km² Ströndin við Stapa og Hellna nature reserve, a narrow coastal strip between Hellnar and Arnarstapi.
- a drone flight needs a permit from Náttúruverndarstofnun
- permits are issued only for commercial work — research, monitoring, construction, film, news and professional photography — and never for recreational or educational flying
- commercial permits may be granted year-round
- camping and overnight stays are prohibited inside the reserve — the Arnarstapi campsite is outside it
- dogs must be leashed and under control
- unnecessary noise near the bird cliffs is prohibited
- landing helicopters or other manned aircraft inside the reserve is prohibited
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Overview
A beautiful viewpoint in Arnarstapi village.
As a photography stop, Gatklettur is a landscape in West Iceland, roughly 193 km from Reykjavik, reached by a drive to the trailhead and a short walk in (footwear and weather check). Plan the shoot year-round, though winter wind, ice, and short daylight rework the shot list. The downloadable Landscape map pins exact GPS coordinates, parking, and nearby waypoints so you can fold it into a wider route instead of hunting for the pull-off on arrival.
Gatklettur sits inside the landscape GPS map for Iceland, alongside the other spots worth routing a day around.
Notes on this location
Compiled from published sources rather than a visit. Sources are listed below.
A cliff arch on the Arnarstapi coast of Snæfellsnes, among the rock formations that include the rifts Hundagjá, Miðgjá and Músagjá.
- What it is
- A cliff arch among the natural rock formations along the Arnarstapi shore
- Its neighbours
- The rifts Hundagjá, Miðgjá and Músagjá on the same stretch
- Getting there
- On the Arnarstapi–Hellnar coastal path, an hour’s walk across the Hellnahraun lava
An arch is a subject that depends entirely on alignment — it only reads as an opening from the angles where something shows through it, so this is a location to arrive at with time to move rather than one shot from the path. The published source gives no dimensions, so its scale is not stated here.
SourcesArnarstapi — Wikipedia
Light & aurora at this spot
Calculated from this location’s coordinates (64.766, -23.623). Iceland stays on UTC year-round, so these are local times.
- Summer
- 21.6 h of daylight in June and the sun barely sets, dipping only 1.9° below the horizon — effectively continuous golden light through the small hours.
- Winter
- December: only 3.8 h of daylight (11:34–15:25), but the sun never climbs above 2° — the entire day is golden hour. Sunrise bears SSE, sunset SSW.
- Aurora
- Aurora-grade darkness Sep–Mar, peaking at 12.9 h a night in December. Not possible Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug — the sky never gets dark enough.
Bar height is daylight hours. Months marked • have enough astronomical darkness for aurora; the rest do not.
Questions & answers
Gatklettur is a landscape in West Iceland, Iceland, approximately 193 km from Reykjavik. Exact GPS coordinates are included in the downloadable Landscape map.
The recommended season for Gatklettur is All. For light, plan around blue hour and the first hour after sunrise; Iceland's long shoulder-season twilight extends usable conditions on either side.
Drive/Hike access. Bring weather-appropriate footwear and check conditions before setting out. The downloadable GPS map puts the waypoint on your phone; your own app routes you to it from wherever you are.
Yes — Gatklettur can be visited year-round, though winter conditions may require a 4x4 or storm-tolerant plans.