Siglo Hotel by Keahotels

Hemmed in by jagged peaks in a narrow fjord that carves its way out to the Greenland Sea, Siglufjörður is just about as remote as Icelandic towns come. It’s right at the tip of the Tröllaskagi Peninsula, less than 40 kilometres south of the Arctic Circle, and accessible only by tunnels that burrow through the surrounding mountains – a setting so isolated and eerily beautiful that it was chosen as the filming location for the popular Nordic Noir television series, ‘Trapped’. The hour-long drive from Akureyri is truly spectacular, and you’ll almost certainly want to make several photo stops to capture the majestic scenery en route.

In the early 20th century, it was only a tiny shark fishing village before morphing into the ‘Herring Capital of the World’ – a transformation which fuelled a rapid period of economic and population growth, as Siglufjörður became one of Iceland’s most important industrial hubs. The herring industry may have long since dissipated, but it remains deeply ingrained in the town’s cultural heritage, which you can learn all about at the Herring Era Museum.  

Today, Siglufjörður is an outdoor adventure paradise, with some of northern Iceland’s best hiking trails and ski slopes on its doorstep. In the town itself, you’ll find a handful of fabulous cafes and restaurants, as well as an artisan chocolatier and a family-run craft brewery. At 66.1 degrees north and with minimal levels of light pollution, it’s also a prime destination to see the aurora borealis (northern lights) – typically visible multiple times per week between mid-September and early April.