Risin og Kellingin viewpoint — Attraction in Eiði

Great place to view the Icelandic giants. There’s a small car park, a telescope, and a lot of sheep too. You can see the highest mountain of Føroya here as well.

A legend tells how, once upon a time, the giants in Iceland were envious and decided that they wanted the Faroes. So the giant and the witch (his wife in some versions of the story) were sent down to the Faroe Islands to bring them back. They reached the north-westernmost mountain Eiðiskollur (see map), and the giant stayed in the sea while the witch climbed up the mountain with a heavy rope to tie the islands together so that she could push them onto the giant's back. However, when she attached the rope to the mountain and pulled, the northern part of the mountain split. Further attempts were also unsuccessful, and they struggled through the night, but the base of the mountain was firm and they could not move it. If the sun shines on a giant or witch, it turns to stone. So it was that as they continued to struggle they didn't notice time passing, and as dawn broke a shaft of sunlight put a stop to their efforts by turning them to stone on the spot. They have stood there ever since, staring longingly across the ocean...

Unas vistas del atardecer espectaculares, desde este mirador al norte de Eysturoy, uno de los más memorables de las islas. Desde aquí se contemplan con claridad las formaciones rocosas conocidas como Risin og Kellingin, que en feroés significan “el gigante y la bruja”. Según la leyenda, fueron dos gigantes enviados desde Islandia para robar las Islas Feroe, pero al no lograrlo antes del amanecer, quedaron petrificados para siempre mirando al mar. Risin (el gigante) mide unos 71 metros de alto y se encuentra más alejado de la costa; mientras que Kellingin (la bruja), de 68 metros, está más cerca del acantilado, separada solo por un estrecho canal. El acantilado junto a Risin og Kellingin, alcanza una altura aproximada de 300 a 343 metros sobre el nivel del mar. Esta pared escarpada forma parte de los grandes farallones volcánicos de la isla, característicos por su verticalidad. La vista desde este punto permite observar el Atlántico Norte, el perfil de la isla de Streymoy, y en días despejados incluso parte del relieve montañoso de Eysturoy. Además, es una buena zona para ver aves marinas volando entre los acantilados, como fulmares y alcatraces. El mirador está bien señalizado y se accede fácilmente en coche. Recomendable llevar ropa de abrigo, ya que el viento suele soplar fuerte, especialmente al atardecer. Un lugar cargado de misticismo, leyenda y...

This is one of the best places to view stars and a place that can take aurora photos, which we did it. We couldn't see the aurora but if you have good equipment such as a cellphone and know how to adjust the phone camera settings, you may have a chance to take aurora photos. The route to this point at night is not hard to drive, so I really suggest coming to this place in late evening...