The World's Most Popular Desert Tourist Destinations

Land on the surface of the earth from various corners of the world holds a stretch of places with amazing views that are endless to explore. Various kinds of land surface area that stretches widely including plains, mountains, hills, valleys, ravines, and deserts. Although it is not a very popular tourist destination, actually the desert is one of the beautiful lands with views and has a unique ecosystem.

Desert itself according to geographical terms is an area that receives little rainfall, which is less than 250 mm per year. However, deserts have 4 types including hot and dry deserts, coastal deserts, cold deserts, and semi-arid or semi-arid deserts. The various types of deserts present beautiful scenery and have a unique flora and fauna biotic environment. This makes the desert one of the most sought-after destinations for holiday explorers to visit.

This time, we will provide recommendations for places to adventure to the most popular desert tourist destinations in the world. Of course, it will make you stunned and amazed by the scenery and uniqueness in it.

1. Sahara Desert - North Africa

When it comes to the most popular desert, the first thing that comes to mind is the Sahara Desert. It's incomplete if the discussion about the desert does not start from the desert which is the largest desert in the world. The Sahara Desert, located in northern Africa, has a desert area of ​​about 9,000,000 square kilometers. Most tourists go on vacation to the Sahara Desert to spend the year-end holidays in December.

The journey to the Sahara Desert from the city of Marrakech, Morocco, does take hours, but along the way you will be accompanied by the expanse of the beauty of Mount Atlas. You can also visit the Berbers who are craftsmen of beautiful Moroccan carpets and blankets.

Arriving in the Sahara Desert, you can ride a camel and go around for 30 minutes. In addition, you can also visit Ait Ben-haddou, a village located on the Marrakech - Sahara trade route that has existed since the 11th century and has been named a UNESCO World Heritage Center. In the afternoon, you can enjoy amazing holiday adventures including enjoying the sunset which is bathed in golden light blending with the desert. At night, you can spend the night in a tent and sleep accompanied by a star-studded night sky. 

Interestingly, the Sahara desert will change and turn into a prairie or desert every 20,000 years.

2. The Wave - Arizona, United States of America

One of the desert tours in the world that has the most beautiful scenery is the wave in the Coyote Buttes area, Arizona, United States. Named the wave, because the dunes look like rolling waves in the sea. As a result, the desert view of the wave has the optical illusion of a stack of wavy lines. This wavy line is called a filled eolian lamina or a layer of rock formed from wind-blown sand. The beauty of the curve of the line in the wave desert makes this desert has a beautiful panorama to be used as a photo spot. Even so enchanting, there are many expressions that say that even if you don't use a professional camera, the photos in the desert of the wave will still look professional.

People who want to enjoy the view of one of the world's most beautiful desert tourist destinations can take it by hiking. However, to visit the wave is not as easy as one might think, because this desert only provides entry for 20 people per day in order to protect the wave structure from damage caused by the large number of tourists visiting. Visitors are also prohibited from climbing along the wave path.

In addition to hiking and taking scenic photos of the many interesting spots of desert tourism in the United States, visitors can also do other activities such as rafting and tours. However, if you visit this desert, you must bring a sufficient supply of water and food because this area has very hot, dry and windy temperatures.

3. White Sands National Monument - New Mexico, United States of America

The world's most popular desert tourism because of its uniqueness is White Sand National Park, where this desert has a white desert that lives up to its name. This desert located in New Mexico is formed from gypsum so that it has a sand color that looks clean white. White Sand National Park is the largest gypsum desert in the world with an area of ​​about 712 sq km.

The White Sands themselves formed from 7,000 to 10,000 years ago when Lake Otero dried up and consistent wind gusts carried some of the dunes 3 to 4 meters per year. Finally in 1933 at the end of the administration of President Herbert Hoover, White Sand was named a National Park that must be protected.

You can also do interesting activities when visiting White Sand National Park, starting from camping, hiking, sledding, and picnicking. If you feel tired walking around, you can explore this stretch of sand mountain by renting a special vehicle for approximately 45 minutes. White Sand National Park is also equipped with a visitor center that makes it easier for you to get around the museum, get to know the typical plants in this desert, to buy souvenirs.

4. Salar de Uyuni - Bolivia

Turning to the desert which is also famous for its uniqueness is Salar de Uyuni which is located in southeastern Bolivia. What makes this desert so attractive is that Salar de Uyuni is a salt desert surrounded by active volcanoes and is located at an altitude of 3,659 meters or about 12,000 feet above sea level.

Salar de Uyuni was formed from Lake Michin which at 40,000 years ago was categorized as the largest lake in the world. The process of drying the lake due to evaporation over the years. Because there is no river flow around it, the salt that comes from minerals in the mountains dissolved by rain does not evaporate and eventually fills the dry lake bottom, so it is called Salar de Uyuni.

What makes this one of the world's desert tours very popular is that Salar de Uyuni has an amazing view, especially when the sky mirror phenomenon occurs from December to February. In that month, the rain that inundated the salt fields made the Salar de Uyuni form a shallow lake. The reflection of sunlight with salt water deposits will appear transparent like a giant mirror reflecting the horizon above it.

5. Wadi Rum - Jordan

Next is the desert which is famous for having a unique landscape like the planet Mars, namely Wadi Rum in Jordan. Wadi Rum is also the location used for filming the film "The Martian", where the background throughout the film is the planet Mars which turns out to be the Wadi Rum Desert. Wadi Rum is a stretch of red desert with an area of ​​720 square kilometers surrounded by giant rocks. One of the world's most beautiful desert tours also has plants growing on it, making this desert look like the planet Mars on Earth's surface. Wadi Rum is also a protected natural landscape since 1998 because it has historical and cultural heritage that is important to Jordan and Middle Eastern countries.

When visiting Wadi Rum, you should not miss the view through the stone wall window that will reveal a view of the desert that looks lit up. You can also explore interesting spots such as giant rocks that can be climbed. Do not miss the historical buildings of the Nabataean heritage. Then at night, you can stay in a Bedouin tent which is open to the public.

It turns out that the desert is not only limited to sand dunes, but a very interesting destination to visit because it has amazing views and other unique things that can be explored.