Ísafjörður Municipality
Ísafjörður is the largest town in the Westfjords of Iceland, with around 2,700 people, and serves as the commercial, cultural, and administrative hub for the entire region. It sits on a sand spit deep inside Skutulsfjörður fjord, surrounded by mountains that rise to around 700 metres on all sides, and holds the best-preserved collection of early trading-era timber buildings in Iceland, some dating to 1757. The Neðstikaupstaður district of historic warehouses and merchant houses from the Danish trade monopoly period is considered unique in Iceland. Summer ferries depart from Ísafjörður to Hornstrandir Nature Reserve, the remote uninhabited peninsula to the north and one of the country's most sought-after wilderness hiking destinations. The town is also regarded as the sea kayaking capital of Iceland, with the surrounding network of fjords and inlets offering exceptional conditions.
The Westfjords' Main Town, with Iceland's Best-Preserved Historic Merchant District and Ferries to the Wilderness
Ísafjörður has been a trading settlement since at least the 16th century and received official town status in 1787. The Neðstikaupstaður area at the tip of the sand spit holds four timber merchant buildings dating from the 1730s to the 1780s, constructed during the Danish-Icelandic Trade Monopoly period when the town was one of the most important commercial centres in Iceland. Nowhere else in the country are trading-era buildings this old preserved to this extent, and the district is managed by the Westfjords Heritage Museum. The town grew significantly in the 19th and early 20th centuries on the back of the saltfish industry, and the fishing heritage remains visible throughout, from the working harbour to the museum collections. The Easter music festival Aldrei fór ég suður, founded by the musician Mugison in 2004, runs annually and brings live performances to the town over several days, drawing visitors from across Iceland.
Ísafjörður is the primary gateway to Hornstrandir, the uninhabited nature reserve on the peninsula to the north of Ísafjarðardjúp bay. Hornstrandir was settled by Norse farmers and abandoned by its last permanent residents in the 1950s, and is now accessible only by boat from Ísafjörður during summer. The reserve is famous for having the densest and most habituated population of Arctic foxes in Iceland, animals that have had no hunters or predators to fear for generations and will approach visitors closely. Multi-day hiking routes cross the peninsula and boats can be arranged for drop-offs and pickups at various points. The town is also the base for sea kayaking in the Westfjords, with guided expeditions operating through the fjord network from spring to autumn.
Ísafjörður is served by Eagle Air with domestic flights from Reykjavík taking around 40 minutes, making it significantly more accessible than the six to seven hour drive via the mountain pass roads. The town has a hotel, several guesthouses, restaurants, a swimming pool, a hospital, and two supermarkets, the only ones in the Westfjords. It is the base for tours to Dynjandi waterfall, the Westfjords' most spectacular natural attraction, and to other remote areas of the peninsula. The surrounding mountains offer skiing in winter at the Seljalandsdalur ski area above the town.
