Hike to the Trøllkonufingur in the Faroe Islands

When you drive from Torshavn, follow the signs to the airport. On the island of Vagar, just after the village of Miðvágur the road bends to the right, with the lake on your right-hand side. On this bend there's a small exit where you can park the car to start your hike. 

Once you've parked, walk back to the village of Miðvágur. Take the road on the right just before the Church and follow it uphill. Turn right and follow this path until you come to a gateway that opens up to the fields and a clear footpath through them. 

Follow this foothpath as far as it goes. It's almost completely flat so the ground is very easy to walk on. There are a few small streams that you'll need to cross but keeping your shoes dry is fairly easy. 

As you reach the farthest point of the trail, you'll have the lake on your right side and the ocean on your left. If the conditions allow, it definitely worth walking up and around the giant cliffs, where you'll see a high cliff known as the Trøllkonufingur (Trollwoman's Finger) and views back inland with the lake that looks as if it's floating above the ocean.

From here follow the trail back down to the far end of the lake to the Bøsdalafossur waterfall, where the lake flows into the Atlantic Ocean. Use the stepping stones to cross the river and follow the trail back along the lakeside on the same side that you came. This trail ends up back where you parked the car.

Things to note:

The weather in the Faroe Islands is very changeable, and the local saying is "If you don't like the weather, just wait 5 minutes". We certainly found this to be true. We set off with clear skies at sunrise and mid-way through our hike the clouds and mist rolled in and it started snowing. Within 10 minutes it had passed and was clear again. But every now and then we would be completely surrounded by mist so we just had to sit down on a rock and wait for it to pass.

When we undertook the hike, there had been fresh snowfall. The trail as far as the cliffs was easy to follow, even with the snow, but the trail down to the waterfall and back was much trickier. If you can't find it, I would recommend doubling back and following the same path back that you came on.

We did this hike in winter, and found it to be safe and easy to do, but we had been told that there are a few weeks during the year where hiking is not allowed due to hare hunting season. So do check it's safe to go before you set off. 

The recommended time for the hike is around 2.5-3 hours but it definitely took us much longer due to all of the photo stops we had to make along the way. If you love landscape photography, this hike will not disappoint!