11 of the strangest beaches around the world

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While white-sand beaches with azure waters and billowing palms are nice, they’re far from unusual.

For those looking for a unique coastal experience, the following beaches provide just that.

Barking sand, star-shaped fossils and natural underground hot springs are just a few of the experiences you’ll find on some of the world’s strangest beaches.

Gulpiyuri Beach, Llanes, Spain

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While there’s nothing unusual about a beach with golden sand, crystal waters and waves, there is when its location is in the middle of a meadow. The 131-foot (40-meter) shoreline of Gulpiyuri Beach offers a whole new type of beach serenity, as you can cool off in the translucent salt waters while taking in both beach and rolling countryside hills.

Hoshizuna Beach, Okinawa, Japan

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Hoshizuna Beach is one of the unique beaches in the world where you can find star-shaped sand (the other two, Kaijihama Beach and Aiyaruhama Beach, are on Taketomi Island, also in Okinawa). The tiny stars are actually fossils from thousands of tiny crustaceans.

That said, locals have a mythical story to go along with the star-shaped sand. Legend has it that there once was a star mother and father who had a star baby. While they consulted the god of the sky about the birth, they left out the god of the ocean, who became infuriated and killed the baby star with a big snake. The snake’s feces became the fossils we see today on the beach. Additionally, the god of sky put the baby star into the heavens as a fossil, which is why you see stars in the sky today.

Loango National Park, Gabon, Africa

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For those who want a mixture of pristine beach and wildlife spotting, Loango National Park is the place for you. The park extends all the way to the white-sanded coast, where you can watch hippos, gorillas, buffaloes, leopards, elephants and wild pigs take a dip in the water. It’s definitely not your usual day of building sand castles and playing beach volleyball.

 

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