Norðradalur in The Faroe Islands. You might have heard or read that name before if you are remotely into landscape photography. Yes, that is where that beautiful snake road is located. A true Faroe Islands classic. And rightfully so, no matter how many times you will visit this place, this view keeps being what is, jaw dropping beautiful.
But there is more to Norðradalur then just the road. Or well, not a whole lot to be completely honest with you. Norðradalur is a town of around only 15 people in population. Life is slow here. Life is pure here. The only people you will probably meet around here are fellow photographers and tourist.
This does not mean that the valley and the town have nothing else to offer besides the snake road. Absolutely not. The tiny village itself is as Faroese as it gets. A handful of houses and farms. Some sheep roaming freely around them. With the ocean as a (beautiful) backdrop.
I love these kind of shots. Shots that show local life as it is. Without them being the popular and well known social media kind of shots. Getting to see and photograph the real deal. That is what makes me happy.
Two farms, or one house and a shed (not sure) in Norðradalur
There’s a couple of streams coming down from up on the mountains, leading down into the valley before finally reaching the ocean. These streams make for amazing foreground objectives to implement into your composition. in Norðradalur you can’t go wrong really (well if the weather behaves ofcourse) You will have the bowl shaped valley, and the islands of Koltur in the background. Now all you need to do is pick your stream, compose your shot and bag a couple of great photographs!
Each and every time I visit Norðradalur I am a little bit sad that I have to leave this place. It is just so beautiful. But hey, you do want to explore other parts of the country too. But I have at least returned once on each of my Faroe Islands trips. On some of them I even visited Norðradalur a couple of times. Because I just can’t get enough of how beautiful it is out there.
So if you are planning a trip to The Faroe Islands, make sure to make a stop in Norðradalur. Have fun photographing the area. But most of all just enjoy being out there, and look around you.
Take it all in. And treat the area, nature and locals with respect of course. Like you should do everywhere.
Remember, people live here. Don’t be that annoying, disturbing and trespassing tourist.