Vestrahorn mountain black sand beach ocean, Iceland

Vestrahorn on view

Jagged and misty mountains loom as a salty lagoon laps at soot-black sands. Could this be an exclusive beach resort in Mordor?No, we're not in Middle-Earth but rather the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, looking at Vestrahorn mountain along Iceland's remote southeast coast. Sparsely populated, eastern Iceland is home to only about 3.5 percent of the nation's already small (387,000) population. But nature lovers will find plenty of company out here, and not just due to the excellent view: Wildlife like seals and puffins love to gather on the rocky shores, and further inland you'll find Iceland's only population of wild reindeer.