Part 2: Snæfellsnes Peninsula | Enchanting Black Sand Beach

Part 2: Snæfellsnes Peninsular Tour

After a full lunch break, our tour continued to Djúpalónssandur, a quiet, black-pebbled beach with beautiful views out to the sea and fascinating area in the Snæfellsjökull National Park, close to where Jules Verne located his entrance for the “Journey to the Centre of the Earth”. Djúpalónssandur or Black Lava Pearl Beach is a black sandy beach of Snæfellsjökull in Iceland. It was once home to fishing boats and fishing villages on the Snæfellsnes peninsula but today the bay is uninhabited.

Nautastígur Path - The Path Of The Bull

This enchanting place took only 2-hour drive from Reykavik. It was a short drive from the main road to Djúpalónssandur, and our bus driver left the bus in the parking lot just above Djúpalónssandur. We reached the beach by walking down Nautastígur path - the Path of the Bull. The path to the beach was slippery, steep, narrow and very windy. I felt like the wind might blow me off to the valley on the right side of the path, which was not shown in the picture above. 

Walking Down To The Black Sand Beach

We visited Djúpalónssandur in the evening and I was already tired from a long day of touring and I had morning sickness. Apparently, I did not want to walk down to the black beach. However, I changed my mind and walked down to the beach and viewed the sunset, where I took breathtaking iconic photos with the black beach.

Red Lava Rock 

The path leading down the black beach is one of the best part of this trip, especially a short nice walk among the lava rocks. Pictures speak a thousand words. Not only respect for people but also respect for nature is deeply seated in mind of each Icelander. There are many interesting lava rock formations and amazing coast cliffs, which make Djúpalónssandur a very popular spot to visit in the Snæfellsnes peninsula. Therefore, it is not suggested to climb the rocks or in any other way influence the natural phenomena found on this beach.

Red Lava Rock With A Hole Is Called Gatklettur

I walked through a lava field with huge lava formations and rocks. To me, this was the most beautiful part of Djúpalónssandur. A few steps before I reached the beach, there was a peculiar lava rock with a hole in the middle, called Gatklettur. Through the hole, I saw Snæfellsjökull glacier. Snæfellsjökull glacier, an old volcano inspired Jules Verne, a novelist in his novel Journey to the center of the Earth. 

Snæfellsjökull Glacier and Black Pebbles Beach

This is one of the best pictures that shows black pebbles scattered beautifully on the beach, lava formation rocks and Snæfellsjökull glacier, the white mountain behind the beach. Snæfellsjökull is a snow-capped glacier that covers a volcano and the snow covers the whole mountain during winter. This glacier is amazing as it rises to 1,440 meters at its highest point. The scenery is tremendously impressive and this place is paradise for all photographers. 

Lifting Stone, The Amlóði

There are four lifting stones in Djúpalónssandur, used by fishermen to test their strength. They are Fullsterkur (full strength) weighing 154 kg, Hálfsterkur (half strength) at 100 kg, Hálfdrættingur (weak) at 54 kg and Amlóði (bungler) 23 kg. They were traditionally used to qualify men to work on fishing boats, with the Hálfdrættingur being the minimum weight a man would have to lift onto a ledge at hip-height to qualify. Those who couldn't lift the half strength stone was deemed unsuitable for life at sea.

Black Sand Cove

The view of this strange black sand beach is breathtaking. The black sand cove on the of Snæfellsnes Peninsula is curiously close to the Icelandic heart. It is covered with black pearly pebbles, constantly being brought in by the ocean waves. Picking them or nicking them is strictly forbidden, not a single one of the black pebbles. The Icelanders don't want their stones removed to reserve the landscape beauty. Although black sand beaches can be found all around the country, don't stay too close to the shore and be careful with the powerful, unpredictable waves as it is very dangerous.  

Black Pebbles At Various Sizes

Disney's Frozen 2 was inspired by Icelandic landscape from geysers, black sand beaches, volcanoes and waterfalls. Director Chris Buck confirmed that a trip to Djúpalónssandur Beach inspired Frozen 2’s color palette and landscapes. In one of the most thrilling scenes of the movie, Elsa tried to rein in her powers on a black sand beach before riding a magical water horse, that was very much inspired by the black sand beaches Snæfellsnes Peninsula in Western Iceland, Djúpalónssandur. 

Black Pebbles

The beach is also quite unique with its many polished pebbles of various sizes. As you can see from the picture above, most of the sizes of black pebbles are small compared to a male adult's boot. One really neat thing to experience is to go close to the breaking surf and listen to the rocks being churned in the waves. It makes a unique sound.

Black Pebbles

Djúpalónssandur is a fabulous beach to relax or take some good pictures. During winter, the black sand beach looked like vanilla ice cream coated with chocolate chips. This is a cool beach where you can take a stroll along the shore and see some seals if you time your visit just right.

Sunset At Black Pebbles Beach, Djúpalónssandur

Although Reynisfjara in South Iceland may well be the most popular black beach in Iceland, Djúpalónssandur is a rival both in beauty and danger. This impressive beach contains black lava sand and perfectly shiny, round black pebbles. We spent about an hour in Djúpalónssandur and beautiful sunset kicked off early in winter season. Black beach looked incredibly compelling at different angle and timing.