Stokksnes, a walk along the best wild beach on Earth
In one of the most photogenic countries in the world is ** the best wild beach on Earth .** Located at the foot of Vestrahorn , a mountain composed of dark igneous rock and sharp peaks, Stokksnes beach It is one of the most photographed places in Iceland .
The white foam of the Atlantic winding through the black sand causes a beautiful contrast which also serves as the perfect setting for the sinuous reflection of the mountain in the water. It's impossible to take your finger off the camera shutter; each angle is better than the last.
No, it is not a beach to use
And it is that the beach of Stokksnes is the complete opposite of a typical beach. Here we will not find that characteristic feeling of joy and vitality that overwhelms when stepping on the hot sand of a Mediterranean or Caribbean beach. In Stokksnes there is fine dunes but their blackness is hypnotic and the white of the waves seems painted with a brush. Walking along the shore causes the same effect of awe as walking through the corridors of a cathedral, where the majestic Vestrahorn served as the main altar.
Despite the ruggedness of the area, the access road to Stokksnes is privately owned so to get to it we will have to pay a ticket (800 crowns, about 6 euros per person) at the ** Viking Café ** and, while you're at it, take the opportunity to have a good coffee and a piece of cake with exceptional views.
When paying the entrance they recommend us First access to a film set that was never used and that imitates a Viking village, after approach the lighthouse and walk the cliffs to, in the end, entertain ourselves as much as we want on Stokksnes beach.
The simulated Viking village is worth nothing more than a walk while the cliffs near the beach allow contemplate how nature demands your control in a country like Iceland. The waves are delivered with power to the rocks while the wind blows without any obstacle.
Stokksnes, a walk along the best wild beach on Earth
In this area, whether in the hollows and small coves or in the open sea, it is easy to meet seals that curiously observe the traveler who dares to approach the cliffs.
they are not few the ships that have been shipwrecked along these waters. One of the last, in 1984, ended without fatalities but caused the boat was stranded on the beach and in the area it is still remembered when, at the end of the 19th century, several French ships were shipwrecked and the inhabitants rescued and sheltered more than 30 men for several winter months. The French government rewarded the favors with numerous material and honoring one of the pragmatic Icelandic sayings, widely used in shipwrecks, which reads 'Eins dauði er annars brauð' and which comes to mean something like 'one man's death is another man's gain'.
To that beach where the remains of the shipwrecks used by the locals arrived, today travelers arrive looking to take one of the best photos of Iceland. Photogenicity hides among the black sand dunes that recreate curious shapes thanks to the force of the wind while modeling mounds that give a vegetable touch among so much blackness.
Also, if snow remains between the gothic forms of the mountain, we can have the sensation of having interfered in a black and white snapshot, full of elegance, stillness and a strange fascination. Without forget the effect of the nearby lagoon which offers the possibility of multiplying Vestrahorn thanks to the game of reflections that are easily drawn in the water.
The photo
Although there is an even more coveted photo. If there is an exceptional setting to photograph the northern lights in Iceland, with permission from Kirkjufell, it is Stokksnes beach. Vestrahorn's profile framed by the dancing lights is one of the best memories that photographers and laymen alike aspire to.
Not in vain, in 2017 photographer Wojciech Kruczynski won the Caroline Mitchum Award at the EPSON International Pano Awards with a near-perfect snapshot - called the Eye of Stokksnes - of a northern lights circling Vestrahorn and reflecting off the water.
And it is very possible that the best virgin beach in the world is one of the best settings to take the perfect photograph.
The perfect photograph is in Stokksnes