Discover The Lodge on the Elliðaey – The Loneliest House in the World

The Elliðaey – also spelled Ellidaey – is a remote island with a famously bizarre house. The reason the house is so bizarre? It’s been dubbed “the loneliest house in the world.” In late 2020, images of this house on its isolated chunk of rock went viral, prompting a firestorm of interest from internet users. And we can’t blame them! Find out all about the loneliest house in the world, including how it got there and how you can get to it.

What Is the Loneliest House in the World?

The dwelling called “the loneliest house in the world” is the Lodge on the Elliðaey, also called the Elliðaey Island Lodge. The Lodge is a single white house located in the middle of uninhabited Elliðaey Island off the southern coast of Iceland. The island itself is the most northeasterly member of the 15 to 18 islands belonging to the archipelago known as the Vestmannaeyjar (Westman Islands).

From Elliðaey, the nearest inhabited land is the island of Heimaey, which is the largest island in the Vestmannaeyjar. It also happens to be the largest and most populous island off the southern coast of Iceland, which lies four nautical miles away. Heimaey currently has a population of about 4,500 people.

What’s Inside the Loneliest House in the World?

The Lodge on the Elliðaey is a rustic hunting lodge, so don’t expect the height of luxury. That said, it makes a reasonably comfortable dwelling for intrepid explorers. According to some reports, it contains several dorm-style beds, a sofa, a fireplace, and a dining table with chairs. A wire fence encloses the property. The building is powered by propane gas and appears to have access to electricity. However, it lacks running water, which means it relies on rainwater for its supply.

How to Get to the Loneliest House in the World

The loneliest house in the world is inaccessible, to say the least. To get to the Lodge on the Elliðaey, visitors first need to take a ferry to the nearby island of Heimaey. Then it’s time to cross the dangerous, fog-ridden Icelandic waters to Elliðaey in a small boat departing from the town of Vestmannaeyjar. If this is successful, the final step is a treacherous climb up the island’s cliff face. According to some reports, over 11,000 people have managed to gain access to the Lodge. Needless to say, inexperienced travelers should not attempt it as the journey is difficult.

Myths About the Loneliest House in the World

Perhaps not unexpectedly, several myths persist about the loneliest house in the world. Read on to find out the truth about some of these internet legends.

1. A Mysterious “Dark Truth” Explains Why the Lodge Is Empty

As intriguing as this sounds, there’s no “dark truth” surrounding the Lodge on the Elliðaey. Nor is it truly “empty” considering that thousands of people have stayed there over the years. The most likely reason the Lodge hasn’t had more visitors is the location’s inaccessibility.

2. The Lodge Has Been Empty For Over 100 Years

Again, this is patently false. The Lodge has had plenty of visitors during the past number of decades.

3. Singer Björk Once Lived There

One of the most popular myths concerns Icelandic singer-songwriter Björk, who some claim used to live in the Lodge on so-called “Björk’s Island.” This is false – she never lived in the Lodge or owned the property. In reality, the Icelandic government offered her a different island in 2000 that was also named Elliðaey. This island lies in a shallow bay called Breiðafjörður in the west of Iceland. Björk turned down the offer in 2004 due to fears that the island would become a tourist trap.

4. An Eccentric Billionaire Built It to Ward Off the Zombie Apocalypse

There may well be people who would go to such extremes to escape futuristic zombies, but the builder of the Lodge wasn’t one of them. There’s no record of a billionaire in the Lodge’s history, much less one that feared a zombie apocalypse. As scintillating as this theory is, the real truth (found in the next section, “The Real History of the Loneliest House in the World”) is much more mundane.

5. The Photographs Were Doctored

Understandably, some internet users are skeptical about the existence of a lone house in such a remote location. This has led some to claim that the famous photographs of the Lodge were doctored. This is not true – the photos are real and so is the Lodge.

6. There’s Another House on Elliðaey Island

This isn’t strictly true – there’s a caveat. The Lodge is the only actual dwelling on the island, but it isn’t the only structure. Another building, much smaller in size, still stands on the island in addition to the Lodge. However, it’s only used for storage.

The Real History of the Loneliest House in the World

As seems appropriate, the full history of the loneliest house in the world is relatively obscure. Rumors persist about five families that lived on Elliðaey Island in the 1700s, but these are unsubstantiated. According to internet fact-checker Snopes, it’s also possible – though, as the site stresses, unconfirmed – that people lived on the island at various points before or since the 1700s to fish, hunt, or farm. What we do know for sure is that the Elliðaey Hunting Association built the Lodge in 1953 to house puffin hunters. Whether hunters still use it for this purpose is unclear.

Two Youtubers in recent years have helped popularize the legend of the Lodge. In 2017, YouTuber Bjarni Sigurdsson took a trip to the Lodge on the Elliðaey and documented it on his YouTube channel. You can view the video here. In 2021, YouTuber Ryan Trahan spent a night on the island to discover the truth about the Lodge and posted the video to his channel. You can view that video here.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the journey to the loneliest house in the world is treacherous while the Lodge itself is relatively rustic. However, visitors report that the extreme solitude and the island’s stunning views are well worth the trip.

The photo featured at the top of this post is © Borkovec/Shutterstock.com