The eight most impressive deserts in the world

Its landscape has awakened the attraction of travelers since ancient times. The desert is a magical place, a unique space in which the pleasure of silence is a faithful companion. We invite you to discover the selection of Routes 10 of the eight most impressive deserts in the world, which will help you get rid of the traditional look at these immense and extraordinary apparently empty spaces.

The desert is an essential destination that has attracted adventurous travelers of all ages. The immense dunes with their color changes halfway through the day, camel caravans, lunar landscapes, mirages… are evocative images that are impossible to resist.

travel to the desert

But not all deserts are the same. If you are among those who believe that the desert is a suggestive, mystical place, that it is worth living for the magical spaces it keeps, for its silence, for the energy it gives off, be sure to browse among the eight most impressive deserts in the world that you propose to know Of course, you will have to be willing to adjust to the rules of nature.

Eight spectacular deserts

1.- Atacama Desert – Chile

In the north of Chile is the most arid place on the planet, where the lack of rain can be counted for decades. What three million years ago was a sea bed, today is a desert with unique landscapes: valleys, mountainous formations, salt flats, lagoons, hot springs, geysers… What in the imagination appears as an inert land, which it is, is complete. with areas where the flora clings to life and where some species, such as the vicuna or flamingos, have adapted to extreme temperatures.

You can’t miss:

• San Pedro de Atacama, whose square is the heart of the town and every day they set up craft and souvenir stalls. Its colonial stone and adobe church is from the 17th century.

• The Valley of the Moon, small mountains with whimsical and sculptural shapes that at sunset resemble a lunar landscape. lunar landscape.
• The Miscanti and Miniques lagoons at 4,000 meters above sea level are hidden between volcanoes. There are not a few who consider them sacred, which is why they have inspired the most beautiful legends of the Atacama desert.
• The Tatio geysers, steam vents up to 10 meters high and hot mud craters that come from the volcano of this name.

2.- Uyuni Desert – Bolivia

With its more than 10,500 square kilometers. It is the largest salt desert in the world and also the highest (3,600 meters above sea level). Two reasons enough to be part of the most impressive deserts in the world. But there is more. This infinite white plain, in its origins, was a saltwater lake from which today 25,000 tons are extracted each year and it contains the largest lithium reserve on the planet.

You can’t miss:

• Incahuasi Island,  a small mountain made up of petrified corals and full of cacti, from the top of which spectacular views of the immensity of the salt flat are obtained.
• The Hotel Sal is the first accommodation built with this mineral. Here is the Plaza de las Banderas and the Dakar Monument.
• The Cemetery of trains that in 1890 loaded gold, silver and tin, and which have now become scrap metal.

3.- Antarctic desert – Antarctica

The extreme cold conditions in this ice desert reduce life in some areas to a few bacteria and microorganisms. This ice shelf covers more than 94% of the 14 million square kilometers of the Antarctic continent. Penguins, seals, sea lions, gulls, petrels and cormorants inhabit the coastal areas, while the human presence is reduced to scientists who come to carry out research at the international bases that are installed there. They are joined by travelers who seek to visit this immense desert, at least once in their lives.

You can’t miss:

• Paradise Bay. It is one of the two natural ports most used by ships to reach these frozen lands and start the expedition on foot.
• Neko Port. Located on the west coast, it is the second natural harbor on the peninsula and the starting point for many excursions.
• Weddell Sea. Its main attraction are the tabular icebergs, giant formations from the Larsen, Ronne and Filchner barriers that make up a unique floating landscape on Earth.
• South Georgia Islands. Its mountain ranges and its wildlife are surprising, they are a true sanctuary for millions of animals. The inlet of Barff Godthul, the bay of St. Andrews, Cooper or the Drygalski fjord, are its main attractions.

4.- Karakum Desert – Turkmenistan

In Turkic languages ​​it is translated as black sands in reference to the dark soil that lies under the sandy surface of the desert. It occupies about 285,000 square kilometers, representing 80% of Turkmenistan in Central Asia. The sand and stony terrain dotted with scrub alternates with large dunes in some sections. But travelers who come here come in search of the spectacular Darvaza crater.

You can’t miss:

• Hell’s Gate. Just to see the Poza de Darvaza in first person, it is worth traveling to the country. Hence, we include it in our selection of the most impressive deserts in the world.

It is an artificial crater in the Karukum desert, whose interior has burned uninterruptedly for half a century. The history of this unique hole dates back to 1971 when oil prospecting for an underground methane gas cave accidentally caused it to collapse, opening a series of craters through which the gas escaped. The decision to burn it to prevent it from spreading keeps the flames alive.

5.- Namib Desert – Namibia

This 2,000 kilometer strip that runs parallel to the country’s coast is considered the oldest desert in the world, whose name means enormous in the Nama language. It is a fascinating and inhospitable place, but in which life makes its way thanks to the mists, which favor the existence of certain plants and animals adapted to this extra contribution of humidity. A unique desert in which to enjoy the highest dunes in the world and whose northernmost part is known as the Skeleton Coast due to the number of shipwrecks that have occurred in its waters.

You can’t miss:

• The Namib-Naukluft National Park, inside which is the Sossusvlei area, where there are some of the highest and most suggestive dunes in the world, which can rise to more than 300 meters high. Dune 45 is allowed to climb and it is quite an experience, just like Big Daddy, the highest and with priceless views.
• Deadvlei, an uninhabitable place where there is not enough moisture for the dead trees to decompose, causing the remains to remain within it.
• The Sesriem canyon, a deep gorge formed by the Tsauchab river two million years ago.
• The Skeleton Coast where the shifting dunes stretch to the edge of the sea, dotted with the wreckage of the ships stranded here.

6.- Desierto Death Valley – California

This desert holds the world record for the highest temperature recorded: 56.7ºC in July 1913. Death Valley is the second largest in the United States and you have to take its name seriously, running out of gasoline or water for your visit could be a drama.

You can’t miss:

• The Dantes viewpoint with a spectacular aerial view over this desert.
• Zabriskie Point to see a curious geological phenomenon: the earth has wrinkled, giving rise to some spectacular yellow tones.
• Devils Golf Course, where the evaporation of Lake Manly has exposed all the salt that it had and the erosion over the millennia has carved surprising shapes.
• Badwater Basin to experience the beauty of the hexagons that the salt flats draw on the ground.
• Mesquite Flat Dunes, which are the most extensive, although the highest is only 30 meters high. They were used as props in the Star Wars saga.

7.- Gobi Desert – Mongolia

It is located between southern Mongolia and northern China and its more than one million square kilometers make it one of the largest in the world. It was an outstanding stretch of the legendary Silk Road due to the small deposits of salt in some areas, a highly prized asset by merchants as it was used to preserve food.

You can’t miss:

• Gurvan Saikhan National Park. Its Khongoryn dunes are the highest in the world.
• The Valley of the Bearded Vulture, a rocky gorge that is usually covered with large masses of ice that resist until well into the summer. A place to enjoy the typical fauna of the area, such as the yak, the ground squirrels or the funny pikas.
• Overnight in a gers camp, the traditional houses of Mongolian nomads. Circular in shape, they are structured around a central stove that distributes heat to cope with the freezing temperatures at night.
• The Valley of the Dragons, one of the areas with the highest concentration of fossils in the world. They are of great importance for understanding how large lizards lived and evolved.

8.- Desert of Wadi Rum – Jordan

Its name means High Valley and it could not be missing among the most impressive deserts in the world. From Amman, the capital of Jordan, it takes about three and a half hours to get there. There are more than one hundred kilometers of red sand in which the wind and water have forged a labyrinth of rocks that rise up to 1,750 meters. It is an ideal place for experienced climbers, but not only, it also offers tranquility, open spaces, canyons, water tanks and even rock paintings dating back more than 4,000 years.

You can’t miss:

• The stone bridges, the highest is that of Burdah.
• The Seven Pillars of Wisdom, rocky rubbing that resembles seven huge columns that already impress from afar.
• The settings of major Hollywood productions such as Lawrence of Arabia, Rogue One (from the Star Wars saga) and The Martian.