Perched on top of a tall slither of rock, six miles off the coast of Iceland, Þrídrangaviti Lighthouse is considered by many an introvert’s dream home and a wonderful placed to be in case of a zombie apocalypse.
Þrídrangaviti, which translates as “three rocks”, was built in 1939, soon before the start of World War 2. Nowadays, the lighthouse is accessible by helicopter and even features a small helipad to make landing there easier, but back in 1938, when work on it began, helicopters hadn’t yet been invented. Brave workers had to to scale the 120-foot-high rock to reach the pinnacle, where they laid the foundation of the lighthouse by hand, while ensuring that the strong winds and rain didn’t send them plunging into the freezing North Atlantic Ocean.
“The first thing we had to to was create a road up to the cliff,” project director Árni G. Þórarinsson said in an old newspaper article. “We got together of experienced mountaineers, all from the Westman Islands. Then we brought drills, hammers, chains and clamps to secure the chains. Once they got near the top there was no way to get any grip on the rock so one of them got down on his knees, the second stood on his back, and then the third climbed on top of the other two and was able to reach the nib of the cliff above. I cannot even tell you how I was feeling whilst witnessing this incredibly dangerous procedure.”
Þrídrangaviti Lighthouse sits on the highest of the three rocks, called Háidrangur, or High Rock in English. The view from up there is nothing short of spectacular, but few are willing to live in complete isolation just to be able to enjoy it. Luckily, they don’t have to. Apart from occasional maintenance work, Þrídrangaviti is uninhabited.
But even visiting this place for a few hours is an extremely daunting task. The thought that one wrong step or a strong gust of wind can cause you to tumble into the ice-cold waved below and send you crashing against the rock face is pretty tough to deal with.
Photos of Þrídrangaviti Lighthouse went viral online a few years ago and were even shared by celebrities like Justin Bieber. People called it a haven for introverts, and it even got its own Facebook fan page, followed by over 4,000 people.
