The Dark Lord

"And as the captains gazed south to the Land of Mordor, it seemed to them that, black against the pall of cloud, there rose a huge shape of shadow…”

- J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King (1955).

The fictional continent of Mordor, in J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-Earth, is often cited as a comparator or inspiration for various, real-life landscapes (such as Iceland and the Dolomites). It is only the Playa de Portizuelo, however, which can claim to bear resemblance to the Dark Lord Sauron himself. Set on the rugged Asturian coast in northern Spain, the beach has a remarkable sea-stack, known as Sauron’s Mask. At the right angle and with a very low tide, the Dark Lord can be seen, standing ominously in his famous battle regalia.