The world seems to have turned only black and white... Iceland’s “Devil’s Territory” — listen to the legends of sea spirits

The combination of blue seas and white sandy beaches is most familiar, but in the southernmost town of Vik in Iceland, you’ll only see “half” of that — because the beach here isn’t white at all, but pitch-black through and through. White waves crash onto the shore, and the stark contrast creates an extreme kind of beauty.

Vik in Iceland isn’t particularly bustling, with a population of only around 600 people, yet its expanse of dark beach has made the town famous. Though it’s called “sand,” it’s actually granular volcanic lava — free from impurities or silt. Pick some up and shake it off, and you’ll find almost nothing sticks to your hands. The seawater that crashes ashore is the same: from a distance it looks blackened, but up close you’ll see it’s still crystal clear.

The basalt of Vik’s black sand beach is quite spectacular. (Image credit: Daya Imaging / Shutterstock)

The little black basalt elves, Reynisdrangar, come with a legend. (Image credit: Daya Imaging / Shutterstock)

In fact, Vik’s black sand beach isn’t the only one in the world, as Iceland is full of such beaches. But Vik is so renowned precisely because it’s so pure — the flat, deep expanse at first glance brings a sense of calm and mystery. As for what makes it unique, there are also the rocks standing in the sea. Each uniquely shaped lava column adds an “eerie” atmosphere to the black sand beach when the sea mist rises. On the three massive basalt sea stacks called Reynisdrangar, there is such a legend: it is said that two Icelandic elves once tried to drag a three-masted ship ashore under the cover of darkness, but they didn’t make it in time before the dawn broke, and both the elves and the ship were turned to stone.

When dark clouds gather, the beach takes on a mysterious aura. Some say it resembles a devil’s territory. Though it’s not as bright and clean as a typical beach, the extreme contrast of black and white is deeply captivating. When visiting Iceland to see the aurora, you must pay a visit to one of the world’s top ten most beautiful beaches — Vik’s Black Sand Beach.