Bizarre Desert Locations That Make You Feel As Though You’re On An Entirely Foreign Planet

You are aware that you do not have to fly to space to experience a sense of being transported away from Earth. There is no better way to avoid the mud season mayhem than to head straight for the desert and explore the fantasy-like paradise it holds.

1.White Sands National Park

Sited at the northernmost extent of the Chihuahuan Desert and at the outskirts of a US army facility and missile-testing warehouse, this United States National Park is as mysterious as it is alluring. Visitors can drive to a variety of serpentine dunes, can look at animals in credit to the various wildlife sanctuaries, or even rent sleds for speeding down the sand dunes.

2.Salvador Dali Desert

Salvador Dali Desert, colloquially referred to as Dal Valley (Valle de Dal), is a desolate valley in southwestern Bolivia’s Potos Department. It is completely contained within the Eduardo Avaroa Andean Fauna National Reserve and is represented by panoramas reminiscent of Salvador Dali’s surrealist paintings. There aren’t really any official roads in the desert, so it’s best to hire a tourist guide or a driver specifically for deserts.

3.Danakil Depression

The Danakil Depression is a frontrunner for the hottest place in the world, at least when a year-round high degree of temperatures is considered rather than focusing on the segregated spurts of intense temperatures. Inadequately, it receives only minimal drops of rainwater per year and is located at 328ft below sea level, making it one of the lowest points on the planet that isn’t covered with water.

4.Pinnacles Desert

The lunar-like Pinnacles create one of the most beautiful and complex landscapes in Australia. Thousands of towering limestone domes soar uncannily from the yellow sand dunes of Nambung National Park, just beyond the coastal town of Cervantes, which was founded over millions of years. Within less than three hours from Perth, along the Indian Ocean Drive, you can travel to Pinnacles via a scenic drive or a strolling journey.

5.White Desert

Only a few hours from Cairo’s burning metropolitan area is a desert that will leave you feeling as if you’ve arrived on the moon’s surface. These exceptional calcium rock constructions formed over decades of constant erosion and dust storms, appearing across the scenery like great ambiguous sculptures. Some that closely mimic food were given names like “mushroom” and “ice cream cone,” while others have been given grander labels. Your investment of time and money here will surely be worthwhile.

6.Black Desert

The transition from beige to black on the desert floor, 50 kilometers south of Bawiti, marks the start of the Black Desert. It appears to be scenery straight out of the underworld, created by the erosion of the canyons, which have stretched a surface of black powder and stones across the peaks and plateaus. The Black Desert is a frequently visited stop on tours departing from Bahariya Oasis and is frequently coupled with a White Desert tour.

7.The Racetrack

There’s something about the cruising rocks of The Racetrack Playa in Death Valley, California, that is absolutely spectacular. Large boulders with bizarre trails left behind are strewn throughout the desert. The routes indicate that these rocks wheeled and shimmied across the flooring of the desert for as much as 860 feet at times. The slopes last for years before disappearing, making it almost impossible to anticipate when or how quickly the stones will migrate.

8.Atacama Desert

Rather than being a barren, mountainous wasteland, the Atacama Desert is teeming with life. Its archaic cultures extend a cordial welcome to modern visitors, and prosperous oases support an amazing complexity of life in the world’s driest desert. On the high Andean plateau, modest tribes perch at elevations of up to 4,000 meters above sea level, where time-honored cultures survive in intense and photogenic conditions.

9.Wadi Rum

This temperate valley, carved magnificently over eons by water and wind, contains magnificent and untarnished landscapes comprised of relatively steep sand dunes, rough mountains with extraordinary shapes, narrow canyons with a thousand different colors, water sources interlinked between the depths, remarkable rock ridges, 4,000-year-old rock inscriptions, and numerous other wondrous artifacts. Investments in having this place preserved have been satisfactory, so its structure can still be intact for future generations to come and behold.

10.Empty Quarter

Rub al Khali is an Arabic term that translates as “empty quarter.” The title was given to it because it is a vast, unblemished stretch of sandy desert that has defeated kings, explorers, and nomadic tribes for thousands of years. In a region dominated by deserts, the Rub al Khali developed a reputation for being particularly fearsome and uninhabitable. While it may not be an ideal location for a town, it has become a magnet for daring travelers seeking to enjoy a true natural mystery.

11.Lencois Maranhenses National Park

The Lenis Maranhenses dunes look like any other classic desert, except for the shallow, blue streams of water accumulating between the hills. The Lençóis Maranhenses Dunes are shielded as a national park and are strictly regulated, with automobiles prohibited within the park’s known credit boundaries. This is for the best, as breaking into the desert is disastrous enough without needing to care about any accidents.

12.The Painted Desert

Enter the Painted Desert for a memorable encounter with Arizona’s natural beauty. This vast province of rocky canyons covers more than 93,500 acres and features rocks in every shade imaginable, from thick lavenders and vibrant grays to reds, oranges, and pinks. It’s as if you’ve stepped into a portrait. The Painted Desert is located in northern Arizona and extends eastward from Grand Canyon National Park to Petrified Forest National Park, with a substantial chunk falling within the Navajo Nation.

13.Namib Desert

It is one of the planet’s few coastal deserts, with meandering dune pastures crisscrossing its 3 million hectares. There are two distinct dune platforms at work here, one ancient and one young. Additionally, it is referred to as the world’s oldest desert, assumed to have emerged as a result of the erosion of materials thousands of kilometers away. Due to the desert having a humid environment possessing a high degree temperature, it has mist for its main water supply.

14.Gobi Desert

The Gobi Desert, foreboding and enormous, is Asia’s largest desert and is efficiently present in the atmosphere. From Silk Road voyages to contemporary films, the Gobi Desert has played a significant role in popular consciousness. Savor the Gobi’s fierce beauty from atop a camel; tour the momentous, colorful Flaming Cliffs; enjoy a meal with a nomadic family whose lifestyle has continued unaltered; or merely take in the clear, uncontaminated night sky.

15.Salar De Uyuni

Known for its crystalline appearance and how transparent its texture is, the Salar De Uyuni is really one of the most surreal places to travel, in our opinion. This Bolivian landscape is truly a sight to see for your own eyes, for many tourists were left in awe when they laid their eyes on this magnificent lake. Remember to just always be mindful while travelling since accidents may happen. We don’t want your lawyers filing cases to tour operators, so make sure to pick one with sufficient training and one who knows their way around the area.

16.Erg Chigaga- Morocco

Farther away from neighboring civilizations than Morocco’s other Saharan erg, this verdant sand sea is a sensory overload and a welcome respite from the constant tourism of the world’s largest hot deserts. Erg Chigaga’s sand dunes are profound and steep. Days in these secluded dunes are lengthy and hot, making them ideal for exploration.

Photo Sources: Instagram, Trip Advisor,