12 Desert spots to add in your bucket list

Have you ever visited any desert ? Whenever people hear the word 'Desert', they imagine an area of barren land where heat rains  as fire balls. But deserts are not always like that. Some deserts possess special qualities unlike any typical desert. A simple definition of desert goes like : A desert is a barren area of landscape where it rains very less. Deserts are a place which receive 25 cm of rainfall or less. In  this post, we are going to discuss 12 such desert spots which are actually good to travel. 

And yes, remember to carry things like sunscreen which can protect you skin from harmful sunlight. Coming back to the topic, let us begin with number 12.

12. Mojave Desert, USA 

Mojave desert is a xeric desert in nevada, southwest USA. It is one of the smallest as well as one of the driest desert among the four american deserts. And the interesting thing is that one of the world's hottest place the 'Death valley' is situated here. Many tourists visit death valley to see its extreme heat. This desert is located between transitional zone of the great basin desert and the Sonoran desert. Furnace creek, located here recorded 56.7 degree celsius of temperature. Tree diversity is less here. Then why this desert is included here ? Because of the activities you can go through. 

Activities to do :

• Arch rock nature trail
• Barber peak loop
• Rings loop trail
• Twin tanks backcountry 

11. Sonoran desert, USA and mexico

Sonoran desert is a mexican-American desert which covers a large area of arizona and california, as well as northern mexico. This desert is regarded as the hottest desert in mexico which often reaches 48 degrees. Sonoran desert covers an area of 260,000 square kilometres. This desert supports 2,000 species of plants. Even during the monsoon, many days end up sunny. Freezing weather is rarely experienced here. Unlike the mojave desert, variety of plants can be seen here. 

Activities to do :

• Hiking
• Horseback riding
• Hot air balloon
• Off road desert tours 

10. Rub al khali, Asia

Rub al khali desert is a sand desert in middle east asia covering parts of saudi arabia, united arab emirates, oman and yemen. This desert covers total 650,000 km square. It occupies about one-fourth of saudi arabia's total area. Rub al khali desert is not much explored. Vast reserves of petroleum is found here. 'Rub al khali' is an arabic name which means 'empty quarter'. This wide spread desert is full of reserves of natural gas and oil. The desert lacks water for the growth of animals and plants. Here, the daily average temperature remains between 47 degree Celsius to 51 degree celsius.  

Activities to do :

• Sandboarding
• Geodes
• Camel riding
• Desert camping

Also read : Rajasthan : Ancient forts, Lakes, Coloured cities and desert

9. Taklamakan desert, China

Taklamakan desert is a desert in north west part of china with gobi desert to the east. The desert coves an area of about 337,600 km sq. Taklamakan is the largest desert under china (no other countries under partnership). Nicknamed as 'The sea of death', taklamakan desert is about 5.3 million years old. The word 'Taklamakan' is believed to be means as ' go in and you will never come out'. This desert is a temperate desert which belongs to typical continental climate. This chinese desert is moderately warm which makes it a better desert to travel. The average temperature in july is 25 degrees. Here, the rainfall is very low similar to other deserts. 

Activities to do :

• Silk road adventure
• Alale bage buddhist temple
• Karakax library
• Tuanji square

8. Thar desert, India 

Also known as the great indian desert, thar desert is a large arid region in india which covers an area of 200,000 km sq. This is the world's 20th largest desert. Animals like desert scorpion, mongoose, chinkara, red fox etc. are found here. In summers, the temperature here can exceed up to 50 degree celsius. Thar desert forms a natural boundary between india and pakistan. This desert covers indian states of rajasthan, gujarat, punjab and haryana. 

Activities to do :

• Dune bashing
• Sunrise and sunset view over dunes
• Camel riding
• Watch traditional cultural perfomences. 

7. Sahara desert, Africa

You might have heard about this desert many times. 'Sahara desert' is the largest hot desert  in the world. With an area of 9.2 million km sq. Talking about all kinds of desert, sahara desert ranks 3rd in area but if we talk about being the largest hot desert, this desert ranks 1st. This desert covers areas of 11 countries : Morocco, algeria, chad, Egypt, libya mali, mauritania, niger, western sahara, sudan and tunisia. Sahara contains two permanent rivers nile and niger rivers. Animals like jerboa, desert hedgehoge , barbary sheep etc. are found here. 

Activities to do :

• Quad bike
• Sand surfing
• Camp fire
• Desert spa day

6. Dasht e kavir, iran

Dasht e kavir is a large desert lying in iran with making it world's 24th largest desert. Covering an area of around 77,600 km sq., the temperature in this desert reaches 50 degrees often in summers. In january, the average temperature is 22 degree. It covers khorasan, semnan, tehran, yazd and isfahan provinces of iran. 

Activities to do :

• Biking
• Kavir ethnology museum
• Hiking
• Cycling

5. Gobi desert, Mongolia and china

Gobi desert is the largest desert of asia covering a large part of northern china and mongolia. The desert covers an area of about 1.2 million km sq. One of the world's most unique ecosystem is found here.Gobi desert is classified as a cold desert. The word 'Gobi ' means desert in mongolian. Bactrian camels, gazelles, gobi brown bear, siberian ibex etc. are wildlife species found here. This vast desert reaches at -38 degree celsius as the lowest temperature while it reaches 42 degree Celsius at its highest.  

Activities to do :

• Ride a camel
• Bayanzag
• Climbing khongor sand dunes
• Visit gobi gurvan saikhan

Also read : Finland :  Where the beauty meets peace 

4. Atacama desert, Chile

Atacama desert is a desert in chile commonly known as the 'driest place in the world'. This desert looks like mars on earth. Covering an area of 105,000 km sq. This south american desert receives only 15mm of rainfall every year. 

Activities to do :

• Photographic tour of tara salt flat
• Moon valley
• Valle de la muerte
• Cordillera de la sal

3. Uyuni salt flat, Bolivia

Uyuni salt flat, also known as salar de uyuni, looks like a portal to another world when the land reflects the sky. It's a desert with no sand. This bolivian salt flat is the world's largest salt flat. It is one of the most beautiful spot in the world. Rainy season is considered a nice time to visit the gorgeous uyuni salt flat. The breathtaking view of this salt flat attracts many tourists throughout the year. Talking about the exact location, this salt flat is located in daniel campos province, potosi department. 

2. White desert, India

Located in the kutch district of gujarat province, white desert is famous all over the world for its natural beauty of salt flats. Especially at the sunset and night time, this desert will look like another world. It is a desert covered with salt. Many tourist activities are out there in this desert. Years ago, some natural process resulted in this stunning wonder. During the kite festival in india, numerous people visit this desert for flying kites.  For further details and facts you can refer here : Kutch : The Salt Desert Of India

Activities to do :

• Visit the tent city
• Look out for handicrafts
• Star gazing
• Sport activities

1. Hoggar, Algeria

Hoggar is a rocky desert in algeria (Africa). This desert covers an area of about 3,800 km sq. locating in tamanrasset area of the country. The highest peak here is Mount tahat, at 2908 m. Hoggar region experiences hot summers and cold winters. The average temperature here ranges between 35 and 42 degrees. 

Activities to do :

• Historic rock paintings
• Hiking 
• Mountain climbing
• Visit tomb of Tin hinan

So this was a list and guide to travel to some beautiful desert spots in the world. Remember to take precautions before travelling to these spots. Cold deserts like arctic and antarctica desert ( a little more costly ) are worth visiting it. In this list, these cold deserts were not included. Hope you got some value from this post. And feel free to ask any doubts in thr comments and also share your feedback.