See a Solar Eclipse in the Faroe Islands

  • Dramatic coastal scenery at Gasadalur on the island of Vagar, Faroe Islands. (Photo credit: Adam Burton)

    Dramatic coastal scenery at Gasadalur on the island of Vagar, Faroe Islands. (Photo credit: Adam Burton)

  • The cliffs of the main island Streymoy.

    The cliffs of the main island Streymoy.

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Adrift in the North Atlantic midway between Norway and Iceland, the 18 tiny Faroe Islands are as remote as they are beautiful, with thundering waterfalls, brightly painted villages set in hills of intense green, and sharply etched cliffs that tumble to the sea, as pictured here on the main island of Streymoy. Yet for all their elemental appeal, the Faroes—settled by the Vikings more than a millennium ago and an autonomous Danish province since 1948—may be a bit far-flung to top anyone’s bucket list. Those looking for an excuse to venture to the archipelago regardless should mark their calendars for March 20, when the islands will experience their first total solar eclipse since 1612. And though the event will only last for two and a half minutes starting at 9:41 a.m., it will be surrounded by a week of cultural festivities that will showcase Faroese hospitality at its best. —Gabrielle Lipton

Getting There
Via Copenhagen or Reykjavik on the Faroese flag carrier Atlantic Airways, which also operates seasonal flights to London in the summer.

Where to Stay
On a hill overlooking the colorful capital city of Tórshavn on Streymoy, Hotel Føroyar (298/317-500; doubles from US$286) offers uncomplicated, comfortable rooms and one of the islands’ most celebrated restaurants, Koks.

Be Sure to Try
Skerpikjøt, the Faroes’ famous wind-dried mutton. It’s hung for months in ventilated wooden sheds and served in thin slices like prosciutto.

What Else?
Take a boat tour up to the northwest coast of Streymoy, weaving through grottoes and sounds up to the Vestmanna bird cliffs, protected breeding grounds for a flurry of seabirds including fulmars, kittiwakes, guillemots, and puffins.

This article originally appeared in the February/March print issue of DestinAsian magazine (“Faroe Away”)

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