Látrabjarg
Látrabjarg is a landscape in Westfjords & Remote, Iceland — about 424 km from Reykjavik and reached by a drive to the trailhead and a short walk in (footwear and weather check). Shoot it during the summer window, when light, road status, and crowd levels line up for photography, then use the GPS coordinates, parking notes, and nearby waypoints below to fold this stop into a longer photography route.
Access restriction
Látrabjarg is one of the protected areas where flying a drone requires a permit.
- 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
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Overview
Látrabjarg is a promontory and the western most point in Iceland. The cliffs are home to millions of birds, including puffins, northern gannets, guillemots and razorbills.
Látrabjarg sits inside all 62 landscape viewpoints, 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.
Europe’s largest bird cliff and the westernmost point in Iceland: 14 km long and up to 440 m high, holding millions of birds. For some species it carries up to 40% of the world population.
- Size
- 14 km long, up to 440 m high
- Position
- The westernmost point in Iceland
- Birds
- Puffins, northern gannets, guillemots and razorbills, in the millions
- Significance
- Up to 40% of the world population for some species
- Roads
- Many of the approach roads are very narrow
Being the westernmost point puts the sunset out over open ocean rather than behind land, which is unusual in Iceland and worth planning the day around. The cliff runs 14 km, so this is a location where the drive out is a small part of the time cost and the walk along the top is most of it.
SourcesLátrabjarg — Wikipedia
Light & aurora at this spot
Calculated from this location’s coordinates (65.509, -24.458). Iceland stays on UTC year-round, so these are local times.
- Summer
- 22.7 h of daylight in June and the sun barely sets, dipping only 1.2° below the horizon — effectively continuous golden light through the small hours.
- Winter
- December: only 3.3 h of daylight (11:53–15:13), but the sun never climbs above 1.2° — the entire day is golden hour. Sunrise bears SSE, sunset SSW.
- Aurora
- Aurora-grade darkness Sep–Mar, peaking at 13 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
Látrabjarg is a landscape in Westfjords & Remote, Iceland, approximately 424 km from Reykjavik. Exact GPS coordinates are included in the downloadable Landscape map.
The recommended season for Látrabjarg is Summer. 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.
Látrabjarg is best visited during Summer. Outside that window, expect limited access, weather closures, or significantly different photographic conditions.