Nólsoy Things to Do

I should say that Ove Joensen, drowned in 1987. However to commemorate this proud son of Nólsoy - a monument is located by the harbourside. His boat the "Diana Victoria" is now located in the basement of the Tourist Information Centre.

It is open to the public during the normal opening hours of the centre.

The information centre is located in a renovated building which the locals call Petersen's warehouse. The foundations being used were those first build in 1787 for one of the first shops in the village.

The building acts as both a tourist information centre and a cafe - they can also arrange guided walks and overnight accommodation.

NOTE: Don't make the mistake I made, please call ahead. When I visited the centre was shut; although all their leaflets note they are open every day between 10.00 - 19.00.

This plaque is a tribute to local hero Ova Joensen, who rowed alone from the Faroes to Denmark. Unfortunately, he was killed in a fishing accident a few months after this remarkable accomplishment. If you would like to see his boat, you can inquire at the tourist office.

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A shorter and easier walk than the hike to the south side of the island is to head in the opposite direction. A short distance out of town, you will come to a fork in the road. We first took the west (right) fork as far as we could go towards the north tip of the island. We thought we might be able to loop around, but this area was fenced off and obviously private. We still got some wonderful views of the harbor, the island of Streymoy, and the southern tip of Esturoy.

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Up from the harbor, you'll see "the jawbone," an arch made from, you guessed it, the jawbone of a sperm whale. The arch, officially known as the Gate of Honor, was constructed in the mid 1970s to honor the visit of the Queen of Denmark.

This more or less marks the village main square, with several benches for sitting and various places of interest to visitors (such as the tourist office and the grocery store) just a short distance away.

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After coming to the dead end, we recalled Yogi Berra's sage adivce: "When you come to a fork in the road, take it!" So we decided to go back to the fork and take the eastern path. We took in some excellent views as we walked by dogs, sheep, and irritable terns.

The first place you should visit upon arriving is the tourist office. You'll see it just up the hill and to the left of the "jawbone." You'll be able to get the latest information on hiking paths and other activities on the island. You can also get coffee, waffles, and various other snacks here.

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The most famous thing to do on Nólsoy is to take the 4-5 hour round-trip hike to the lighthouse at Borðan, on the southern tip of the island. We were eager to take this hike and set out immediately (after buying some provisions and reporting our presence on the trail to the tourist office). The hike started up well enough, following a well-marked path with lovely views on all sides... but then, suddenly, the path stopped. Unsure of what to do, we decided to continue southward down the west coast of the island, hoping we would re-join the trail. The views continued to be quite nice, but we unfortunately ran into a sheer downward cliff in one direction, and a sheer upward cliff in the other. Noticing also fog was starting to close in, we reluctantly turned back to the village.

On our way back, we saw a group of hikers making their way uphill. We scrambled toward them to see which path they were on... and came DANGEROUSLY close to sending a tern colony into full combat mode (more on that in a later tip ;)... and saw they were following an old water pipe on the EAST side of the island. Sure enough, Sara's dimwit husband opens the guidebook, where it clearly states, "... the made road turns into a path following traces of an old water pipe..." As Homer Simpson would say, "D'OH!"

As it turned out, though, it was probably just as well. When we got back to the tourist office, we discovered I was severely chilled and inexplicably soaked in sweat. We discovered later that I had taken ill. So perhaps our luck this day was good after all.