Puffin Marina (Hafnarhólmi Island), the Most Accessible Puffin Colony in Iceland

photography by: Omri Westmark

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Often deemed as one of Iceland’s most beloved emblems, puffins are perhaps the cutest critters across the land of fire and ice. While those orange beaked auks have colonies throughout the entire island, surprisingly, it is a remote cluster of grassy skerries in the northeastern corner of the country, known as Hafnarhólmi, which is by far the easiest and safest to access.

Nestled in a faraway corner of northeast Iceland, the Puffin Marina, as it is unofficially known, is located on the outskirts of Borgarfjörður Eystri village. Due to its remoteness, getting there by car is the indisputably easiest way of reaching this natural hideaway. Since vehicular traffic is restricted around the colony, you should first leave your car at the nearby parking and then walk about 250 meters according to the signs.

photography by: Omri Westmark


As you walk towards the colony, you’ll have a first glimpse of the grassy rock on which the puffins live.

photography by: Omri Westmark


Once an Island by its own right, Hafnarhólmi is now linked to the mainland by a newly built harbor. The ambitious plan to construct a local harbor dates back to the 1940’s, yet it didn’t come into fruition until 1974, when the existing small-sized concrete pier was vastly expanded, while rocks were piled on the gap between the craggy islet and the mainland to shield it from the surrounding ocean.

photography by: Omri Westmark


The choppy waters around the village made it virtually impossible to safely dock vessels outside the summer months, and so, in 2001, the modest harbor was transformed into the modern-day marina.

photography by: Omri Westmark


Standing out amid the private yachts and fishing vessels, the modern three-story concrete building that greets visitors on their way to the colony serves a café.

photography by: Omri Westmark


Besides offering a plethora of scrumptious Icelandic eats and warm beverages, Hafnarhus Café rewards its clients with a remarkable vista of the harbor and the colony, albeit seabirds are still too far to clearly spot.

photography by: Omri Westmark


As previously mentioned, the verdant crag is accessible by a pathway that runs along the reclaimed land that encloses the harbor. At the same time, the puffin colony is utilized as a natural barrier that alongside the manmade structure provides a refuge for docking boats from the frequent blizzards during wintertime.

photography by: Omri Westmark


Following a 5-minute walk from the parking, you’ll arrive at a narrow staircase that provides access to the colony. In recent years, the local authority constructed a network of wooden elevated walkways and staircases which make it possible for visitors to get close to the birds, but at the same at time also insulating the fragile creatures from any disturbance that may occur with the swarms of curious tourists.

photography by: Omri Westmark


The moment you’ll ascend the stairs, you’ll be instantaneously struck by the captivating sights of perky puffins, roaming and taking off to the sky.

photography by: Omri Westmark


Home to roughly 10,000 pairs of puffins, Hafnarhólmi is swarmed by those adorable seabirds only during the breeding season, from mid-April to mid-August, when at the rest time of time, the puffins opt for a rather solitary life across the ocean.

photography by: Omri Westmark


The Atlantic Puffin, one of three species of puffins and the only one whose habitat is in the Atlantic Ocean, starts its breeding season in April, when the males typically build a borrow that will later be used for nesting by both parents.

photography by: Omri Westmark


Unlike most endemic birds in Iceland, puffins usually prefer to breed and nest on grassy seaside cliffs with soft soil, that facilitate burrow digging while enable easy access to the nearby ocean.

photography by: Omri Westmark


Renowned for its vividly orange colored beak, puffins actually feature this flamboyant trait only during the breeding season, after which they shed their orange beak, or more accurately the beak’s outer layers, that is then replaced by a drabber version of its former self.

photography by: Omri Westmark


The grassy cliff of Hafnarhólmi is just one of dozens of puffin colonies throughout the country, in fact, Iceland is considered as the world’s puffin capital with more than 10 million birds living within the Island’s coastline and maritime territory.

photography by: Omri Westmark


Despite its uncanny resemblance to penguins, puffins are not genetically related in any way to the southern hemisphere’s flightless bird, yet both of which share a lot in common besides their appearance, most notably, a remarkable diving proficiency.

photography by: Omri Westmark


Perching on the tip of a cliff before taking off to the ocean, these orange-beaked critters are always moments before or after venturing out to the nearby rough seas, where they hunt myriad of small fish, particularly sand eels. Their exceptional ability to carry several individual fish with their beak is translated to a longer hunting spree, whereby the bird manages to feed its pufflings very efficiently.

photography by: Omri Westmark


A second staircase grants access to Hafnarhólmi’s peak, which stands at 18 meters above sea level and is bestowed with spectacular panoramic views and intense air traffic of birds.

photography by: Omri Westmark


The site’s infrastructure, in contrary to other nationwide puffin colonies, offers an unparalleled contact with the birds which often seem rather fearless of human.

photography by: Omri Westmark


Nevertheless, visitors are always reminded to refrain from any activity that might harm or disturb the birds, as this colony is first and foremost a protected site of natural significance and only then, a tourist attraction.

photography by: Omri Westmark


The 3-hectare island is home to a rich flora with more than 30 types of plants, with the vast majority of which coalescing into an endless carpet of tussocks that dominate much of its surface.

photography by: Omri Westmark


Hafnarhólmi might be overwhelmingly renowned for its puffins, yet alongside the article’s winged protagonists are 12 other species of sea birds, some of which call this island home all year long.

photography by: Omri Westmark


Among the isle’s bird species, the most dominant are the northern fulmars, common eiders and the black-legged kittiwakes. Since like puffins, eiders nest throughout the grassy land, enthusiastic binocular-armed visitors might be able to spot them roaming between the birdy throngs. Additionally, Like their orange-beaked counterparts, fulmars and kittiwakes frequent Hafnarhólmi only during the summer months, when they breed and nest, and so, at that time of the year the local sky is full of birds.

photography by: Omri Westmark


Unlike puffins, other seabirds like the black guillemots nest on crevices in the island’s vertical rocky façades, requiring visitors a great deal of resourcefulness to find.

photography by: Omri Westmark


The puffin colony is managed and maintained as a joint project by the municipality of Múlaþing and BirdLife international, a partnership between dozens of NGOs, all of which are dedicated to protect endangers species of birds globally.

photography by: Omri Westmark


While watching puffin is the sole reason why travelers bother to come all the way to this secluded speck of land, the surrounding landscape serves a breathtaking backdrop for birdwatching, as the expansive views include the Borgarfjordur Eystri Fjord with Dyrfjöll’s snow-capped mountains looming far behind.

photography by: Omri Westmark