Iceland (Lonely Planet, 7th Edition) - Fran Parnell [169]
Lónkot
Battered by the wind and wonderfully blustery, Lónkot ( 453 7432; www.lonkot.is; 3-/4-course menu from Ikr5500/6500; May-Oct) is a gourmet pit stop sitting along the rugged coast between Hofsós and Siglufjörður. Smooth trumpet jazz fills the air as diners indulge in a ‘safari’ of finely tuned Icelandic recipes.
Lónkot also has pleasant accommodation (sleeping bag/linen Ikr4000/5500) in a traditional farmhouse with super sea views across to Málmey and the bizarre promontory Þórðarhöfði, which is tethered to the mainland by a delicate spit.
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SIGLUFJÖRÐUR
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The isolated fishing village of Siglufjörður sits precariously at the foot of a steep slope overlooking a beautiful fjord. Once one of Iceland’s boom towns, it’s now a quiet but endearing kind of place with a dramatic setting, plenty of historic buildings and a wonderful museum detailing the town’s former glory as the herring-fishing capital of Iceland.
In its heyday Siglufjörður was home to 10,000 workers, and fishing boats crammed into the small harbour to unload their catch for the waiting women to gut and salt. After the herring abruptly disappeared from Iceland’s north coast in the late 1960s, Siglufjörður abruptly declined and never fully recovered.
Information
There’s a small but helpful tourist point (www.siglo.is) in the herring museum with a detailed map of the town and the surrounding hiking trails.
Sights
The main attraction in town is Síldarminjasafnið (Herring Era Museum; 467 1604; www.sild.is; Snorragata 15; adult/12-16yr Ikr800/400; 10am-6pm mid-Jun–late Aug, 1-5pm May–mid-Jun & late Aug-Sep, by appointment in winter), a re-creation of Siglufjörður’s boom days between 1903 and 1968. Set in an old Norwegian herring station, the museum brings the work and lives of the town’s inhabitants vividly to life. In the first building, photographs, displays and 1930s film show the fishing and salting process, while the accommodation block is left much as it would have been when in use. Next door is a re-creation of the reducing plant, where the majority of herrings were separated into oil (a valuable commodity) and meal (used for fertiliser). The third and newest building is a re-creation of harbour life, with actual trawler boats and equipment based on life on the busy pier during the boom days.
If you’re travelling in midsummer it’s worth planning to visit on a Saturday when herring-salting demonstrations (admission Ikr600; 3pm Jul) are held, accompanied by lively concertina music and theatrical performances.
Thanks to its proximity to the bishopric in Hólar, music has always been of particular importance in Tröllaskagi, and Siglufjörður has a strong musical tradition. The Icelandic Folk Music Centre ( 467 2300; www.siglo.is/setur; Norðurgata 1; adult/under 14yr Ikr600/free; 10am-6pm Jul-Aug, 10am-5pm Jun) opened in 2006 and explores the history and development of Icelandic folk music. The collection is housed in the former home of Reverend Bjorn Thorsteinsson, who collected many of the instruments and recordings of traditional songs, nursery rhymes and chants on display.
Activities
Siglufjörður is a great base for hikers, with a series of interesting walks in the area. Seven of these routes are described in detail on the town website, www.siglo.is.
For a short hike you can walk north along the western shore of Siglufjörður to the abandoned herring factory, which was destroyed by an avalanche in 1919. Longer hikes will take you over the passes Hósarð and Hussarð to the wild, beautiful and uninhabited Héðinsfjörður, the next fjord to the east.
The most popular hike, however, is along the old road between Siglufjörður and Fljótavík. This allegedly haunted road was once the main route into town but was closed when an 800m-long tunnel was built. The route is prone to avalanches and only opens between early July and late August. It climbs up to the 630m Siglufjarðarskarð pass and then heads north along the ridge to Strákar, from where there are