A desert can be a truly awe inspiring and life altering travel experience - nothing can beat the serenity of a night in the desert under the stars. Get away from it all into a sea of shifting dunes and moon-like rock formations - as well as evidence of long-dead civilisations - perhaps to find aspects of yourself that you didn't know existed? Everybody should experience a desert in this way at least once.

Technically a desert is a region that receives less than 25cm of rain per year on average and so we’re not just talking sand. Only 15% of the world’s desert surface is pure sand and most if it is in the Sahara and the Arabian desert. As for the rest: there are rocks, gravel, pebbles and in Antarctica it’s all ice, as far as the eye can see.

Whether it’s braving the baking sun in the day (and the freezing cold at night), the rocky road or the perpetual cold, crossing a desert is a unique and powerful emotional experience. There are a number of excellent desert holiday operators who can arrange this trip of a lifetime - the best are done on foot, and camping at night. They can be surprisingly inexepensive.

Related categories: Volcanoes, Canyons, Deserts, Mountains, Frozen Landscapes, Caves & Caving, Hot Springs

Experts in Deserts:  John Hare

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