Keyhole Arch Shines Bright In Rare Big Sur Light Show

BIG SUR (KPIX 5) -- Visitors to Big Sur are witnessing a spectacular light show, where a setting sun beams through the Keyhole Arch and surrounding landscape.

People call it mystical, otherworldly, ethereal and now is your chance to see a natural phenomenon at Big Sur's popular Pfeiffer Beach.

It happens just a few weeks out of the year.

For a few fleeting, glorious moments, the setting sun shines like a light through a keyhole, from which the rock formation in Big Sur gets its name.

And while the show lasts just five minutes, nature lovers and photographers often wait hours for a front row seat.

Sun, surf and earth only align perfectly for a few days each winter.

The beach was closed and largely inaccessible last year because of a mudslide, that has only added to the appeal this time around.

It is a thing of other worldly beauty, but like so many things in this world, savor it now because it will be gone before you know it.