Norðdepil Travel Guide

Norðdepil is a small settlement in the mountainous Faroe Islands. Situated on Borðoy Island, this place is linked to the nearby village Hvannasund on Viðoy Island by a short causeway.

Norðdepil is most known for being home to the only traffic light in the Faroe Islands located outside the capital city, Tórshavn. When entering the village and just before crossing the causeway, you might very well end up waiting for the green signal.

The traffic system was installed in Norðdepil in the nineties in order to increase road traffic safety. Hence, these traffic lights have allowed for safe passage to commuters ever since. The traffic lights are operated by Landsverk, which is the national road network authority in the Faroe Islands.

Driving in the Faroe Islands is very safe. The fact that there is only this single traffic light in the archipelago’s backcountry gives you a good idea of how little traffic there is. Expect no traffic jams anywhere.

Salmon Boats and more

There are merely 60 houses in the settlement and a harbour area where small catamarans are moored. These boats are used by the salmon company Bakkafrost in order to get to the salmon pens located on the southern end of the sound between Borðoy Island and Viðoy Island. Salmon from the Faroe Islands is known for its premium quality and a fair share of the inhabitants in the settlement work within this most important export in the island group.

Children in Norðdepil have their own school. The school is shared by children from Norðdepil and the neighbouring village Hvannasund on the opposite side of the strait.

Norðdepil is the last village before entering an unpaved road leading to the uninhabited village Múli. The village Múli is featured in the crime drama TROM penned by Tórfinnur Jákupsson and filmed in the Faroe Islands.