Arnarstapi
Arnarstapi, also known locally as Stapi, is a small fishing village on the southern coast of the Snæfellsnes Peninsula, once one of the most important trading and fishing ports on the peninsula and now a quiet base for exploring the surrounding coastal landscape. The village is best known for its dramatic basalt sea cliffs, sea stacks, blowholes, and the Gatklettur stone arch, all accessible on a short clifftop walk from the harbour. At the village entrance stands a large stone statue of Bárður Snæfellsás, a figure from the Saga of Bárðar Snæfellsáss described as the half-human, half-troll guardian of Snæfellsnes, who according to legend retreated into the Snæfellsjökull glacier and continues to watch over the peninsula. A 2.5-kilometre coastal path connects Arnarstapi to the neighbouring village of Hellnar, passing sea arches, nesting seabirds, and lava formations.
A Snæfellsnes Fishing Village with Sea Arches, Nesting Seabirds, and a Legendary Half-Troll Who Lives Inside the Glacier
Arnarstapi developed as a trading and fishing port during the Danish trade monopoly period of the 17th and 18th centuries, when its natural harbour made it one of the few viable landing places on the southern Snæfellsnes coast. Several stone buildings from this period survive in the village. The harbour is still used by private fishing boats and recreational vessels today. The village takes its name from the Icelandic words meaning eagle rock, a reference to the basalt formations of the coastline. The surrounding geology is part of the Snæfellsnes Volcanic Belt, and the sea cliffs around the village are formed from layered basalt lava that has been carved by Atlantic wave action over thousands of years into columns, arches, caves, and sea stacks. Gatklettur, a freestanding basalt arch just west of the harbour, is the most photographed single feature and frames views of the open ocean through its opening.
The 2.5-kilometre coastal path from Arnarstapi to Hellnar is one of the most accessible and rewarding short hikes on the Snæfellsnes Peninsula, following the cliff edge past sea arches, blowholes, lava formations, and small coves over approximately one hour each way. The cliffs in summer are alive with Arctic terns, kittiwakes, fulmars, and razorbills nesting in the basalt ledges. The statue of Bárður Snæfellsás at the village entrance is carved from a single large stone and depicts the saga figure as a powerful, heavy-set figure gazing toward the glacier. The Bárðar Snæfellsáss saga, one of the Icelandic Family Sagas, places him in this landscape as a protector of the region, a man of extraordinary strength and unusual ancestry who eventually withdrew into the glacier rather than deal further with human society.
Arnarstapi is on Route 574 on the southern coast of Snæfellsnes, about 188 kilometres from Reykjavík and two and a half hours by car. The village has a small hotel, guesthouses, a café, and a campsite. Hellnar, reached by the coastal path or by car a few minutes west, has a well-regarded cliff-edge café at Fjöruhúsið. From Arnarstapi the road continues west to Búðir and the Lóndrangar sea stacks, making the village a natural midpoint on a southern Snæfellsnes circuit. Snæfellsjökull glacier, the endpoint of Jules Verne's Journey to the Centre of the Earth, is visible above the village on clear days.
