Vulcano's beach scene is centred on this smooth strip of black sand at Porto di Ponente, about 10 minutes' walk beyond the mud pools on the western side of the peninsula. One of the few sandy beaches in the Aeolians, it's a scenic spot, curving around a bay of limpid, glassy waters out of which rise jutting faraglioni (rock towers).
From the beach, a road traverses a small isthmus to Vulcanello (123m), a bulb of land that was spewed out by a volcanic eruption in 183 BC. Here you'll find the famous Valle dei Mostri (Valley of the Monsters), a group of wind-eroded dark rocks that have formed grotesque shapes.
