Faroe Islands Drangarnir

Did the hike today and it's probably 2-3 hours each way. There are several good photography opportunities there, including: from the hill up top before the fjord turns (about halfway through the hike to get there), at the top of the cliff above Drangarnir (also look to the south--there are some nice cliffs and a small sea stack down there), from the smaller cliffs in front of Drangarnir (this is where I got my favorite photos), and then from the tide pools in front of Drangarnir. It's a hard hike--several people in the group to hike there struggled mightily. You will need good hiking shoes (welcome to the Faroes), lots of wind protection, and layers. I used a tripod and a 9-stop ND filter to get 30 second exposures, and would recommend an ND filter between 6 and 13 to get results (it was fairly sunny today). You have to hike with hiking.fo, and the hike only happens on Saturday, Sunday, and Wednesday. It was a great experience, but you'll need to work to get there. I used a 70-200 for the shots from further away, and the 15-35 for closer. For shots from the cliffs above the fjord, I would actually recommend a 50mm if you have it, otherwise these worked well.

HI Jens! Thanks for sharing this amazing picture and all the information. I'm going there at the end of March and was wondering if you'd recommend hiking in the darkness for two hours (before sunrise or after sunset). Otherwise, I might think to take some shoots during the day since I guess I won't have problems with harsh light!

Another Update: the hike can be booked at hiking.fo in advance. Also tours by boat are possible . We were lucky as be booked the hike and just before it should start a rain shower came up. So the guide (seemed to be the land owners son) brought us out by boat and picked us up again two hours later, adding a drive through the sea stack and into Munkastova. So sceptical we had been when we came to the meeting point, so happy we were when returning :-)

Did the hike this week and have some updated comments. It's definitely not a 2 hour hike unless you're very fit and a skilled hiker. I'd estimate at least 2.5 hours (it took me 3 because I stopped for photos along the way.) There are some very technical stretches that definitely worked on my nerves and are another good reason to have a hiking partner in case something goes wrong. Also, as Jens has mentioned, you absolutely need permission to do this hike. It's 550 DKK and the story is that the landowner watches the trail with binoculars and will come over in his boat to take people off the trail if they're there without permission and then make you pay the fee. Not super friendly, but it's not public land so he's within his rights. Guided hikes on Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays can be arranged with the information posted on signs at the trailhead (and a few warning signs along the way.) Putting the contact info here for everyone: [email protected] or +298 22 30 72. I get the impression that you can arrange to hike on another day if you're with a group, have some sort of local guide, and absolutely get the permission of the landowner. This is what I did and I think I only got away with it because I was proactive and there was another group out ahead of me already.

Great shot!

Important: There are hiking restrictions meanwhile as the path to Dragarnir leads over private owned land: https://visitfaroeislands.com/see-do/hiking/guidelines-restrictions/ There are guided tours three times a week, photographers can hire a photographer for individual tours but this increases the price to more than double - currently a trip for two photographers for sunset costs DKK 3250 (EUR 435,--) if you join the normal hike it's "only" DKK 550 (EUR 75,--) per person (April 2019)

Wow, that's awesome! How long was the hike and where did you start? Just asking because I would like to know if you can get back after sunset or if you need to camp nearby. Thank you very much for sharing this beautiful place Chris!