Dimmuborgir – City of Trolls

Dimmuborgir — meaning 'Dark Castles' or 'Dark Cities' in Icelandic — is one of the most otherworldly landscapes in Iceland. The hulking lava formations were created about 2,300 years ago when a lava lake drained away, leaving behind a forest of hollow pillars, arches and towers carved in black rock. The shapes are so bizarre and cathedral-like that it is easy to understand why Icelanders came to believe the place was supernatural.

In Icelandic folklore, Dimmuborgir is the home of trolls — hulking stone creatures that roam the highlands by night and turn to rock if caught by sunlight. The Yule Lads, Iceland's mischievous Christmas figures (thirteen brothers who replace Santa Claus in Icelandic tradition), are said to descend from Dimmuborgir each December. Their mother is Grýla, a fearsome mountain giantess who hunts badly behaved children and boils them in her cauldron. Their father is the lazy Leppalúði, and their pet is the Yule Cat — a massive black cat that devours anyone who does not receive new clothes before Christmas Eve.

Walking the trails through Dimmuborgir today, especially at dusk when long shadows fall between the pillars, gives an immediate sense of why this landscape has fed centuries of Icelandic storytelling.