Around Bakkafjörður – The furthest village from Reykjavík

Bakkafjörður is a small village of under 80 residents in the far northeast of Iceland. Dependent on fishing and fish processing it is a lonely and isolated location. It is the furthest village from the capital, Reykjavík which is 634 kilometres away by road. A distance that makes it feel like a different planet.

The village is small and sits on the shoreline of Bakkaflói Bay. The pier and old cranes are still standing along with the frames used for drying the fish. An insight into the past that saw this once thriving village develop and flourish.

Digranes Lighthouse

A short distance from Bakkafjörður is Digranes Lighthouse. To get to the lighthouse it is an 8-kilometre walk past the abandoned farm of Steintún and along the shoreline to the end of the peninsula. The lighthouse was built in 1943 but it wasn’t active until 1947 when funds finally became available and was fully automated by 1988. The tower is square with black stripes on each side and a red lantern. It sits on black rocks on a narrow outcrop.

Skeggjastaðakirkja – The oldest church in East Iceland

On the side of Route 85 near to Bakkafjörður, there is a pretty church with neat blue trim around the windows and doors. Washes of light blue from forget-me-not’s coat the surrounding roadside verges. On bright sunny days, the blue of the church merges with Bakkaflói Bay below and the vast Arctic sky above. On more overcast days the blue is a reminder of what could be. Whatever the weather the influence of the sea is ever present in the driftwood used to construct the building.

Skeggjastaðakirkja is the oldest church in East Iceland. The area around this church was claimed by one of the first settlers to the area and over the years has been disputed by the local diocese as to who it belongs to. The current church was built in 1845 at the personal expense of the pastor Rev. Hóseas Árnason and was renovated to its current state in the 1960s.

blue forget me not flowers in east Iceland
Blue and white church the oldest church in east Iceland

Getting to Bakkafjörður

Bakkafjörður is 44km south of Þórshöfn and 36km north of Vopnafjörður on a rough road just off Road 85. It is over a 7-hour drive from Reykjavík via the north of the country. Road 85 is intermittent gravel and tarmac and can be difficult in bad weather.

The village is the start (or end) of the Arctic Coast Way along the north of the country.

While there is nowhere to stay in the village, there are a few options just a short distance away including the simple but homely Fálki Cottage on the far side of the bay.

Skeggjastaðakirkja is on the land side of Road 85 just to the north of the turning for the road to Bakkafjörður. There is a small parking area and information board.

I'm Suzanne the traveller and photographer behind Meandering Wild. With over 30 years of experience travelling to different corners of the world in search of wildlife and remote locations nearly all of the advice on this website is from my own exploring.