Niffelheim is one of the Nine Worlds. It is the far northern region of icy fogs and mists, darkness and cold. It is situated on the lowest level of the universe. The realm of death, Hel is part of the vast, cold region. Niffelheim lies underneath the third root of Yggdrasil, close to the spring Hvergelmir. Also situated on this level is Nastrond, the Shore of Corpses, where the serpent Nidhogg eats corpses and gnaws on the roots of Yggdrasil. Nastrond ("Corpse-Strand"), the land of the dead, was placed in Niffelheim and there stands Eljudni ("Plague"), the hall of Hel.