Lieu photo à Îles Vestmann
Stórhöfði and the puffin cliffs
The southern headland — the windiest place in Iceland, open ocean on three sides, and the world's largest puffin colony from May to August.
À propos Stórhöfði and the puffin cliffs
ItinéraireStórhöfði is the blunt headland at the south end of Heimaey, joined to the island by a narrow isthmus, and it holds two records: the highest measured wind speeds in the country and the largest Atlantic puffin colony in the world. From roughly May to mid-August the grassy cliff tops are riddled with burrows and the air is full of birds.
For pictures, the draw is the openness — ocean on three sides, the outlying islands and stacks in silhouette, and light that comes from everywhere. A hide near the top lets you photograph puffins without disturbing them; from the road and the marked areas a long lens does the rest. The couple frames work along the isthmus and the upper road, with the sea filling the background.
Take the wind seriously here. Gusts can open car doors against their hinges and knock a person off balance at the cliff edge, and the drops are sheer. Keep well back, hold onto anything loose, and be ready for the session to move to Herjólfsdalur if the forecast turns — which, on this headland, it does.
Meilleur moment pour photographier
Evening from May to mid-August for the birds; any calm hour otherwise
Conseils
Long lens from the hide or the marked areas; never onto the burrow grass. If the wind is up, move the session to Herjólfsdalur.
Autres lieux à Îles Vestmann
The harbour entrance
The gap in the cliffs the ferry threads through — sheer walls on both sides, boats passing beneath, seen from the quay or the deck.
Eldfell's cinder slope
Half an hour up a red volcanic cone that erupted in 1973, with the town, the harbour and the new lava field spread out below.
Herjólfsdalur
A green bowl of a valley ringed by cliffs on the west side of town — sheltered grass, a reconstructed turf house and the island's calmest light.
Prêt à réserver ?
Notre équipe concierge choisira 2-3 photographes qui connaissent Stórhöfði and the puffin cliffs — gratuitement.