Dyrhólaey

About Dyrhólaey

Dyrhólaey is a 120-meter-high promontory on Iceland's south coast, about 20 minutes west of Vík, named for the huge rock arch at its seaward tip, about 20 meters high and 50 meters wide. From the top you look straight down the black-sand coast to Reynisfjara and its sea stacks, with Mýrdalsjökull glacier filling the view inland.

The Dyrhólaey peninsula has been a protected nature reserve since 1978, mostly for its birdlife. In summer, puffins nest in the grassy slopes of the Dyrhólaey cliffs, and the lower viewpoint is one of the easier places on the Ring Road to watch them at close range. Eider ducks and other seabirds breed here too, which is why the reserve can restrict access in spring.

There are two parking lots. The lower one sits beside the viewpoint over the arch and the long beaches on either side, while the upper one, by the Dyrhólaey lighthouse, is reached by a steep and narrow gravel track. The lighthouse dates from 1927, rebuilt on the site of a 1910 original, and the walk between the two areas is roughly 1.3 km each way.

Dyrhólaey is about two and a half hours' drive from Reykjavík, reached from Route 1 on Road 218. Allow 45 minutes to an hour, or longer in puffin season. Entry is free, but check the signs for parking payment, and in winter expect the upper track to be icy or closed.

The Environment Agency can close parts of the reserve between May 1 and June 25 while birds are nesting, and it sets the dates and hours each year. Kirkjufjara, the beach just below the headland, is closed for good after rockfalls and accidents at sea. Wind at the top can be fierce, so keep well back from the unfenced cliff edges and keep a firm hand on children.