Winning tip: Erg Chigaga, Morocco
People don’t necessarily associate Morocco with sand dunes: many people restrict their trips to the cities of Marrakech and Fez. We hired a car in Fez and took a three-day trip through the Atlas mountains to the end of the road at Erg Chigaga. Once there, you can go on a safari or just wander out into the desert to climb the vast dunes. The scale and size of these shifting mountains is gob-smacking, and you can drive back along the base of the Atlas mountains before returning the car in Marrakech.
BrigadierCrispbread
Geysers, Atacama desert, Chile
This is a mystical place in which to enjoy sunsets, camping and stargazing. Rent a car from San Pedro, the desert’s main town, and head out to the El Tatio geysers in the Andes (4,320 metres above sea level) to catch them at sunrise. Grab some Chilean snacks like sizzling grilled beef with spicy rice for lunch – then make for La Valle de la Luna. Sunsets here are amazing: watch the jagged peaks turning gold, red then pink as night falls.
TheCapeCruiser
Bootleg Canyon zipline, Las Vegas, US
You know a place is going to be a bit crazy when on the ride up to the top of a mountain you are told that the cast of Jackass are coming the next day. Bootleg Canyon is such a place. There are four “ziplines on steroids” through the canyon – four runs averaging 400 metres where speeds of 60mph are reached. The guides give a great insight into the area and its history (a hideaway during prohibition, hence the name) and the views across the desert to Las Vegas are almost as jaw-dropping as the ride. It’s part-hiking, part-tour, mostly zipline, all fun, and just 30 minutes’ drive from the Strip.
• Tours from $159, flightlinezbootleg.com
catchytitled
Running in deserts
See the most stunning deserts in the world first hand by running 250km across them, reaching new levels of achievement and meeting incredible people along the way. The 4 Deserts Race Series organises races in the Sahara, Gobi (China), Atacama, and even Antarctica – the “Last Desert”.
• 4deserts.com
sfanshawe
Monegros Steppes, Aragon, Spain
The little-known Monegros Steppes, a semidesert in north-east Spain, is Europe’s own Monument Valley. The air is pungent with thyme and savory as you take in the views and enjoy wildlife including vultures, golden eagles, eagle owls, foxes and reptiles.
Lettergirl
City of the Nabateans, Saudi Arabia
The Nabateans were an ancient trading civilisation that flourished 2,000 years ago. Mada’in Saleh, in north-west Saudi Arabia, was their second city. All that remains are monumental tombs within the shifting sands of the Arabian desert, 500km south-east of the Nabateans’ more famous capital city, Petra.
InfiniteLoop42
Gobi desert, China
I’ve really enjoyed wildlife and conservation work in western China, around Qinghai and Golmud. I’ve seen kiangs (Tibetan wild asses), takins (the goat-antelope creature of the legend of the Golden Fleece), wolves and vultures, and there’s a fascinating cultural mix in the towns and villages. Go, but expect rain in this desert!
jameshardcastle2012
