Sea stacks of the Faroe Islands
The islands' punctuation marks. Here is where to read them.
A sea stack is a cliff the Atlantic has almost won against — a column of layered basalt cut free from its island and left standing in the swell. The Faroes hold some of the North Atlantic's most photogenic examples, from the pierced arch of Drangarnir to the five-peaked pyramid of Tindhólmur.
The most famous pair come with a story: Risin and Kellingin, the giant and the witch, sent from Iceland to drag the islands home and caught by the sunrise mid-theft. They stand petrified off Eysturoy's northern tip, visible from Tjørnuvík's black beach on one side and the slopes above Eiði on the other.
The pierced arch — evening boat or the guided hike from Sørvágur.
Five named peaks on one uninhabited islet — frame it from Bøur across the fjord.
Suðuroy's stack, from the viewpoint above the west-coast cliffs.
Risin and Kellingin from the black sand — the classic northern frame.
The other angle on the giant and the witch, looking east from above the village.