Dritvik Djúpalónssandur
Dritvik Djúpalónssandur is a landscape in West Iceland, Iceland — about 207 km from Reykjavik and reached by a drive to the trailhead and a short walk in (footwear and weather check). Shoot it year-round, though winter wind, ice, and short daylight rework the shot list, then use the GPS coordinates, parking notes, and nearby waypoints below to fold this stop into a longer photography route.
Overview
Djúpalónssandur or the Black Lava Pearl Beach.
As a photography stop, Dritvik Djúpalónssandur is a landscape in West Iceland, roughly 207 km from Reykjavik, reached by a drive to the trailhead and a short walk in (footwear and weather check). Plan the shoot year-round, though winter wind, ice, and short daylight rework the shot list. The downloadable Landscape map pins exact GPS coordinates, parking, and nearby waypoints so you can fold it into a wider route instead of hunting for the pull-off on arrival.
Dritvik Djúpalónssandur sits inside all 62 landscape viewpoints, alongside the other spots worth routing a day around.
Notes on this location
Compiled from published sources rather than a visit. Sources are listed below.
A black pebble beach in Snæfellsjökull National Park, scattered with rusted remains of the British trawler Epine GY7, wrecked in 1948. Four lifting stones from the fishing era still sit above the shore.
- Beach
- Smooth black volcanic pebbles, known locally as Djúpulónsperlur — "Pearls of Djúpalón"
- Lifting stones
- Four remain, from Amlóði ("Weakling") at 23 kg to Fullsterkur ("Fully Strong") at 154 kg; a fisherman had to lift the third-heaviest to qualify for work
- Wreck
- Rusted fragments of the British trawler Epine GY7, aground in 1948, still scattered across the beach
- Where
- Snæfellsnes peninsula, in Snæfellsjökull National Park
- Safety
- Swimming is prohibited — dangerous currents and waves
The wreckage is a protected memorial rather than set dressing, so it is photographed where it lies and not rearranged. Rounded black pebbles also behave differently from the black sand further east: they hold highlights instead of swallowing them, so the beach reads lighter than its colour suggests.
SourcesDjúpalónssandur — Wikipedia
Light & aurora at this spot
Calculated from this location’s coordinates (64.750, -23.916). Iceland stays on UTC year-round, so these are local times.
- Summer
- 21.6 h of daylight in June and the sun barely sets, dipping only 1.9° below the horizon — effectively continuous golden light through the small hours.
- Winter
- December: only 3.9 h of daylight (11:35–15:27), but the sun never climbs above 2° — the entire day is golden hour. Sunrise bears SSE, sunset SSW.
- Aurora
- Aurora-grade darkness Sep–Mar, peaking at 12.9 h a night in December. Not possible Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug — the sky never gets dark enough.
Bar height is daylight hours. Months marked • have enough astronomical darkness for aurora; the rest do not.
Questions & answers
Dritvik Djúpalónssandur is a landscape in West Iceland, Iceland, approximately 207 km from Reykjavik. Exact GPS coordinates are included in the downloadable Landscape map.
The recommended season for Dritvik Djúpalónssandur is All. For light, plan around blue hour and the first hour after sunrise; Iceland's long shoulder-season twilight extends usable conditions on either side.
Drive/Hike access. Bring weather-appropriate footwear and check conditions before setting out. The downloadable GPS map puts the waypoint on your phone; your own app routes you to it from wherever you are.
Yes — Dritvik Djúpalónssandur can be visited year-round, though winter conditions may require a 4x4 or storm-tolerant plans.