Iceland
Látrabjarg
Vertical sea cliffs swarming with puffins at the absolute western edge of Europe.
The puffin watches you from less than a metre away, tilting its painted head as if deciding whether you're worth the trouble. Látrabjarg in Iceland's Westfjords is Europe's westernmost point — a 14-kilometre wall of vertical cliff swarming with millions of seabirds above an ocean that stretches unbroken to Greenland.
Látrabjarg rises 441 metres from the North Atlantic, making it one of Europe's tallest sea cliffs. The cliff face hosts one of the continent's largest seabird colonies: puffins, razorbills, guillemots, and northern gannets nest in their millions along the ledges each summer between May and August. The puffins here are famously unafraid of humans, allowing observation at arm's length — a rarity for a species that is typically skittish. The cliffs are also the site of one of Iceland's most celebrated rescue stories: in 1947, local farmers rappelled down the sheer face in a storm to save the crew of the British trawler Dhoon. The drive to Látrabjarg crosses some of the Westfjords' most remote gravel roads, passing abandoned farms and empty beaches.
Solo
Standing at the literal western edge of Europe, with puffins for company and nothing ahead but ocean — Látrabjarg is the kind of geographic extremity that solo travellers seek.
Couple
The long, rewarding drive through empty Westfjords landscapes, the cliff-edge wildlife encounter, and the knowledge that you've reached the end of Europe together.
- Europe's westernmost point — 24 degrees further west than London.
- The 14-km cliff face rises 441 metres and hosts millions of nesting seabirds including puffins.
- Puffins here are famously unafraid of humans, allowing arm's-length observation.
- The 1947 Dhoon shipwreck rescue from these cliffs is one of Iceland's most celebrated stories.
Fisherman's fish stew (Plokkfiskur) served with gratinated cheese in a remote outpost.
Traditional pancakes filled with sugar and jam at the edge of the world.
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