Drangarnir — stack
Erik Christensen , Porkeri. · CC BY-SA 3.0

Drangarnir

  • 1 min read
  • 62.075° N 7.414° W

Interesting facts

  • In Faroese the names are plain descriptions: Drangarnir means simply "the sea stacks", Stóri Drangur "the large stack" and Lítli Drangur "the small stack".
  • The 2025 live-action How to Train Your Dragon was filmed at the stacks themselves, with Hiccup and Toothless flying beneath them.
  • In the same film the neighbouring islet of Tindhólmur stands in for the Vikings' home, the Isle of Berk.
  • Tindhólmur behind the stacks rises to 262 metres and its jagged crest is split into five named peaks, the highest called Ytsti.
  • According to legend, Tindhólmur was abandoned after an eagle carried off a farmer's two-year-old child to its highest peak, and a ruined house there is said to be his.
  • White-tailed eagles once nested on the cliffs of Tindhólmur, the islet framing the stacks.
  • Under Faroese law walking on the surrounding fields needs the landowners' permission, so the cliff-top path to the stacks may only be walked with a guide.

Why it is worth it

Drangarnir is a pair of sea stacks rising from the water off the west coast of Vágar in the Faroe Islands, framed on one side by the cliffs of Vágar and on the other by the jagged islet of Tindhólmur. The larger stack, Stóri Drangur, is pierced at its base by a great sea arch, so that the ocean swell runs straight through it; the smaller, Lítli Drangur, stands beside it like a broken tower. Together they reach about 70 metres in height, and with the saw-toothed ridge of Tindhólmur behind them they form one of the most recognisable seascapes of the North Atlantic.

The stacks are built of the same basalt as the rest of the Faroes, the product of lava flows laid down layer upon layer and later carved by the sea into cliffs, arches and pillars. The surrounding waters and ledges fill with seabirds between May and September. Drangarnir is privately owned land, and the stacks themselves are reached only by boat; visitors usually see them from the water, on trips out of the harbour of Sørvágur, or from the shore at the small village of Bøur, from where they can be seen in the distance.

The scene has travelled far beyond the islands. The sea arch of Drangarnir served as a model for an arch in the animated film How to Train Your Dragon (2010), and the stacks appear in its live-action remake.

Getting there

Drangarnir lies off the west of Vágar, the island that holds the Faroes' only airport, Vágar Airport (FAE), about 7 km away. The nearby villages are Sørvágur and Bøur. The capital, Tórshavn, is about 34 km away in a straight line, connected to Vágar by a road tunnel.

Plan your visit

We have no confirmed visit data yet. Once it is confirmed, this block also carries the date it was checked.

Nearby places

On these lists

The Most Beautiful Places in the Faroe Islands 12The Most Beautiful Water Wonders in the Faroe Islands 6The Most Spectacular Sea Stacks 23The Most Beautiful Water Wonders 429

From the encyclopaedia

Drangarnir is a pair of sea stacks in the North Atlantic Ocean, situated between Tindhólmur and Vágar of the Faroe Islands. The larger sea stack is named Stóri Drangur and the smaller Lítli Drangur. Drangarnir is located near the Faroe Islands' only airport and is a popular attraction among tourists to the archipelago, particularly due to Stóri Drangur's sea arch.

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