There are many kinds of trips to take if you are a keen explorer. Adventure holidays, city breaks, maybe even just a quick jaunt to the beach for a bit of peace and quiet. If stunning natural scenery is your thing though, you might want to check out some of the world’s most beautiful desert landscapes. Here are five destinations you can explore to scratch your travelling itch.
Wadi Rum, Jordan
If you are planning a trip to Jordan, then it simply will not be complete without visiting the glorious Wadi Rum. This protected desert wilderness offers panoramic views of this land, and is surrounded by steep cliffs, natural arches and caverns.
Wadi Rum attracts on average around one million visitors every year and is equally beautiful during the day and at night.
White Sand National Park, United States
You could easily be forgiven if upon your first viewing of White Sands National Park in New Mexico you thought you were looking over a vast snow-covered landscape. But once you detach yourself from that trick of the eye, you will notice what you are actually seeing is beautiful dunes of stark-white gypsum sand.
A stunning natural wonder that stretches over 275 square miles, White Sands National Park is home to the largest gypsum dune field on the planet. You can hike and camp on top of these beautiful dunes and, for the most adventurous, it is even possible to try sandboarding down the steepest dunes.
Wadi Rum image by Christel from Pixabay
Danakil Depression, Ethiopia
Spanning across parts of Ethiopia, Eritrea and Djibouti, the Danakil Desert has a simply surreal terrain. This desert stretches across over 50,000 miles and houses the Danakil Depression, its most popular spot.
The Danakil Depression is one of the lowest and hottest places in the world. Amid its truly unique landscape, people can find volcanoes, geysers, salt plains and geothermal springs, all of which add a mix of bright yellows, blues, greens and oranges to a genuinely breathtaking landscape.
Empty Quarter, United Arab Emirates
The Empty Quarter is the English name given to the Rub’ Al Khaki desert, situated in the southern part of the Arabian Peninsula. Although located in a relatively small country – the United Arab Emirates – Rub’ Al Khaki is the largest uninterrupted sand mass in the world.
For the most part, this desert has a hollow landscape, however, it is also home to huge dunes that measure hundreds of feet. Perhaps the marquee dune among them is the Tel Moreeb, a dune that has an almost 1,000 feet incline. 4×4 enthusiasts are particularly drawn to the Tel Moreeb.
Gobi Desert, Mongolia and China
Covering both parts of Mongolia and China, near the Himalayas, the Gobi Desert has an open expanse of cold desert that occasionally even gets snow and frost. It is beautifully picturesque, and is home to incredibly rare animals such as snow leopards and Bactrian camels, while dinosaurs previously roamed this beautiful area.
Top Desert Sand Dunes image by Jörg Peter from Pixabay
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