Rauðasandur is a beach that looks computer-generated. The sand is deep rust-red, fading in places to orange, and it runs for about ten kilometres around a remote bay in the southern Westfjords. Behind it are shallow lagoons; in front, the open Atlantic. Seals haul out on the sand at the western end and are generally indifferent to visitors who approach quietly.
The approach road drops sharply off a mountain pass — it is one of the steeper roads in Iceland and requires a proper car in wet weather. The beach itself is hard to reach on foot from the road. Most visitors drive the length of the access track and walk from the end. In midsummer the light here in the late evening, angled across the red sand, is extraordinary. There is almost never more than a handful of people.