Hvítserkur

The basalt rock Hvítserkur

The basalt rock Hvítserkur is a peculiar, surf-carved rock in Húnafjörður, in northwest Iceland, on the east coast of the Vatnsnes peninsula.

The rock is about 15 meters high.

It is a nesting site for numerous bird species, including the kittiwake and the fulmar.

The name "Hvítserkur" literally means "white coat", which probably refers to the many light spots on the rock that cover it like a white coat - a white coat made of white bird droppings.

To some, the rock resembles a drinking rhinoceros or an elephant; to others, it's a troll who was petrified by the sun as punishment for trying to throw stones at the then-existing Þingeyrar Monastery near Lake Hóp. (The monastery was at least 20 km away from the rock, but I have no idea how far trolls can hurl stones.)

Side view

The base of the basalt rock is constantly eroded and hollowed out by the sea, so over time the basalt has crumbled considerably. Furthermore, although the rock is about 15 meters high and about as wide, it is actually only about 2 meters deep.

From the front, Hvítserverkur appears wide and massive - but when viewed from the side, it is just a very thin line in the landscape!

And so, as early as the 1950s, there were fears that the rock would become unstable and collapse.

Online, I came across an article in Morgunblaðið from May 22, 1952, demanding that Hvítserkur not collapse— Hvítserkur má ekki falla! In the article, the author, Ásgeir Magnússon, expressed concern because, as he wrote, the base of the rock had been significantly damaged over the past 13 years, and the rock itself was very narrow. He therefore proposed that a concerted effort should be made to reinforce the "legs" of the rock with 3 to 4 tons of concrete to prevent Hvítserkur from collapsing "for the next 100 years."

Source: Morgunblaðið from May 22, 1952

In May 1955, another newspaper article reported that a fundraising campaign had been launched to raise money to save the rock . Postcards featuring a picture of Hvítserkur were sold, and the proceeds were to be used to stabilize the basalt rock. In addition, both the municipality and several individuals and associations, both locally and in Reykjavík, had pledged financial support for the work.

The collection was successful, and the "legs" of the rock were reinforced with concrete to stabilize Hvítserkur in the long term. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find out when the work was carried out. A newspaper article from August 1988 only mentions that Hvítserkur was reinforced at the bottom "many years ago" because there were fears that it might collapse.

For comparison, I have two pictures of Hvítserkur from us here, one from the summer of 2015, the other from the summer of 2025. Honestly, I can't tell if the erosion has continued since then...

Increasing visitor numbers

While Hvítserkur used to be something of an insider tip and not many visitors made it there, the number of visitors has more than doubled recently, and the number of visitors has increased significantly:

In October 2020, a counter was installed on the footpath to the viewing platform to record the number of people passing by. While in April 2022, an average of 126 people visited Hvítserkur per day , or around 3,770 people per month, the numbers more than doubled in the following years up to 2024, reaching around 280 visitors per day, or almost 8,500 people per month.

Directions to Hvítserkur

The basalt rock of Hvítserkur is located on the eastern side of the Vatnsnes peninsula, between Hrútafjörur to the west and Húnafjörður to the east. Road 711, the Vatnsnesvegur, runs along the coast of the Vatnsnes peninsula. The road is nearly 77 km long.

On our trip to North Iceland, we arrived from the west via the Ring Road. On the east side of the peninsula, we turned onto Road 711 and rumbled along the unpaved road for 30 km . Roadworks were underway here, so the journey took some time.

Road 711 - Vatnsnesvegur

After about 30 km, turn right onto road 713 (Hvítserksvegur). The route descends about 500 m toward the coast, down to the parking lot.

When we arrived, we were a bit surprised – we hardly saw any other cars along the route, but there were quite a few vehicles parked in the parking lot, people milling around or sitting at a wooden table having picnics. It was quite busy, but we still managed to find a parking space without any problems.

By the way, a car full of tourists was parked at the junction with Highway 713 – the occupants were apparently debating whether they dared to drive down to the parking lot. The road wasn't in such bad condition, though; it was dry and not at all muddy, slippery, or anything like that. All in all – a good day for this tour!

From the parking lot you can walk in either direction to the viewing platform, from where you have a beautiful view of the basalt rock from above.

Or you can walk from the other end of the parking lot across the meadows down to the beach (" fjara ").

The walk is a bit long, but then you can walk along the coast to Hvítserkur...

... and then at low tide you have a beautiful view of the basalt rock up close.

The drive to Hvítserkur on the unpaved road is a bit long, it's not a "quick detour", and you won't pass by here by chance, but if you have enough time, I find this basalt rock with its very special shape a very worthwhile destination!

[Translated from here.]