Hellissandur () is a village and part of the

Snæfellsbær Snæfellsbær () is a municipality located in western Iceland, in the southwestern part of the Snæfellsnes Peninsula Its administrative centre is Hellissandur and the majority of the residents live in Ólafsvík then Hellissandur and Rif. Twin t ...

municipality at the northwestern tip of

Snæfellsnes The Snæfellsnes () is a peninsula situated to the west of Borgarfjörður, in western Iceland. The Snæfellsjökull volcano, regarded as one of the symbols of Iceland, can be found in the area. With its height of 1446 m, it is the highest ...

peninsula in western

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

. Once an important fishing post, the village has recently experienced growth in tourism. The maritime museum has examples of the

turf roof A green roof or living roof is a roof of a building that is partially or completely covered with vegetation and a growing medium, planted over a waterproofing membrane. It may also include additional layers such as a root barrier and drainage ...

houses once common across Iceland, as well as marine engines and Iceland's oldest rowing boat (1826). According to the 2011 census, Hellissandur and nearby

Rif The Rif or Riff (, ), also called Rif Mountains, is a geographic region in northern Morocco. This mountainous and fertile area is bordered by Cape Spartel and Tangier to the west, by Berkane and the Moulouya River to the east, by the Mediterrane ...

have 544 inhabitants. Hellissandur is one of the first and oldest fishing villages in Iceland and is traced back to the 16th century. One of the points of interest near Hellissandur is the

Snæfellsjökull Snæfellsjökull (, ''snow-fell glacier'') is a 700,000-year-old glacier-capped stratovolcano in western Iceland. It is situated on the westernmost part of the Snæfellsnes peninsula in Iceland. Sometimes it may be seen from the city of Reykjav� ...

glacier A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires distinguishing features, such as ...

, made famous by Jules Verne in his ''

Journey to the Center of the Earth ''Journey to the Center of the Earth'' (french: Voyage au centre de la Terre), also translated with the variant titles ''A Journey to the Centre of the Earth'' and ''A Journey into the Interior of the Earth'', is a classic science fiction novel ...

''. Just outside the village, there is the northern entrance to the Snæfellsjökull National Park, which surrounds the western and southern sides of the glacier. Nearby is the 412 metre tall Gufuskálar radio mast, the tallest structure in Western Europe, located 2 kilometres westward.

References

External links

More information and photos about Hellissandur on Hit Iceland
Populated places in Western Region (Iceland) Snæfellsnes {{Iceland-geo-stub