Reynisfjara Beach

What makes it special

Reynisdrangar, basalt pillars 66 metres tall, stand just offshore. Folklore holds that they are trolls turned to stone, and from the sand they read as a line of dark figures wading out to sea.

Behind the beach, a wall of hexagonal columns rises against the cliff of Reynisfjall. They formed when thick lava from the Katla volcano cooled slowly and evenly.

At the eastern end of the beach, the waves have cut Hálsanefshellir into the cliff, a shallow sea cave whose walls of columns are often likened to a pipe organ. On a clear day, glaciers stand on the skyline inland.

Storm erosion keeps reshaping this shore, so the sand you find may not match older photographs. The stacks and the columns still stand.

Visiting

Before you walk down to the sand, check the warning light at the entrance. The colour on the day decides how far you may go.

On red the beach is closed, the cave and the columns with it, but the designated viewing area above stays open. On yellow you may go down, but read the sign's map on the day and stay out of the marked zone. Whatever the colour, keep to the backshore, the upper sand well away from the surf.

The columns and the cave lie east along the backshore, and you can reach them only at low tide, so check the tide table for Vík before you set out. If the light or the sign closes the way east, they stay out of reach that day.

Allow about an hour, longer if you linger at the columns. Food is at the restaurant and café by the car park. There are no toilets on the beach; the nearest are in Vík.

Guided or on your own

A guide earns a place here if you would rather not judge the sea yourself, because on a tour the guide reads the warning light and the surf for you. The cost is time: tours usually allow around 40 minutes at the beach. Driving yourself, you set the pace and can wait for the tide to drop.

Tips

Sneaker waves surge much farther up the sand than ordinary waves, with no pattern you can predict, and no lifeguard watches the beach. No fixed distance guarantees safety, but keep at least 30 metres from the water even on a calm day, and never turn your back on the sea.

Take particular care in the cave, which offers no retreat inland if a wave comes in behind you, and where rock can fall from the roof. Admire the columns from the sand rather than climbing them, which damages them and is dangerous in any conditions.

The light can change during the day, so look at it again if you come back later. Bring sturdy boots, waterproofs and warm clothes.