On the west side of an island called Vágar is where you are going to find Gasadalur, one of the most beautiful places we ever saw in our lives. This village in the Faroe Islands is known for a waterfall that we decided to describe as nature wallpaper based on how amazing it looks like. The pictures below are going to be enough to convince you to take a plane and visit this amazing country located between Scotland, Iceland, and Norway.
Before Fotostrasse shows you all the amazing pictures we took at Gasadalur, we are going to tell you some facts from the area and the village where the waterfall is. So, Gasadalur is a village in Faroe islands with a great panoramic view of Mykines, the westernmost island in the country. The village is surrounded by the highest mountains on the island and this makes the scenery there even more stunning.
One of the stories we heard about the village told us how it got its name. Supposedly, the name came from a woman called Gæsa. She came from Kirkjubøur and she had eaten meat during the lent fast and, because of this unholy act, her properties were confiscated and she fled to the valley on Vágar. Most of the other villages have names based on stories from spirits and elves but this one is a little different. Gasadalur means valley of geese in Faroese but it could also be because of this woman that fled there. We will never know for sure.
Arriving at Gasadalur by car is simple today but it wasn’t always like that.
Until 2004, when a tunnel was blasted through the rocky mountain the surrounds the village, residents had to take the route through the mountains to get to the village. We learned that the post office was doing this route three times a week during the entire year. The tunnel was so useful that it even made the population of the village a little bit bigger. In 2002, the local population was no more than 16 people and, today, the population grew to 18. This is how isolated the area can be.
When you get to the village, you are going to see yourself surrounded by beauty. Nature Wallpaper was the expression that came to our heads once we left the car and started walking around Gasadalur. On the north side, you are going to see Árnafjall with its 722 meters. On the east, there is Eysturtindur with its 715 meters. On the south, you can see the ocean with Gáshólmur and the amazing Tindhólmur. There is also a helicopter pad in the middle of the village, something that would be quite useful before the tunnel was built.
Let’s talk now about the waterfall in Gasadalur.
We read some stories online of people that couldn’t find the place so we are going to try to explain everything here. So, if you get there by car, you will drive into the village and stop on a small parking lot on a small road called Byrgisvegur. Insert this into your GPS or Google Maps and your life will be easier.
From the parking lot, you can see green fields and the village of Gasadalur. Walk in the opposite direction of the village and you will see a big shed and the helicopter pad, walk past them and you will see a trail on the right side of the road. This is the way to the best place to take pictures of the waterfall there.
Follow the trail until the end and you will be able to see the waterfall on the right side of the trail. If you go all the way to the end, you will see the crazy stairway built by the British during the occupation of the Faroe Islands in 1940. The stairway was built to connect the beach with the village but we can only imagine how scary it used to be to go down there.
Gasadalur was the first place we visited in Faroe Islands since it is on the same islands as the airport. If you want to visit this place, keep this information in mind. Since the road ends in the village, you can use the village to begin your road trip through Faroe Islands and we know you will love this. We have also a full post about getting to Faroe Islands if you don’t know how to go and a video showing you what you need to know for a safe drive while in this fantastic archipelago.
The waterfall in Gasadalur is one of the most beautiful places to take pictures in Faroe Islands. A nature wallpaper that is more than worth the trip to this isolated country in the middle of the north Atlantic Ocean. We are pretty sure you will love it as much as we did.
Nature Wallpaper: Gasadalur in Faroe Island
62°6′44″N 7°26′5″W
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