Just 5km from the city of Ica lies a picturesque lagoon surrounded by the biggest sand dunes you might ever see. Huacachina is a tiny town in southern Peru, an hour away from the Pacific coast. The town is basically a collection of resorts and restaurants around a blue-green laguna surrounded by huge sand dunes. It was originally built as a resort for the Peruvian higher classes. Huacachina has a permanent population of 100 residents, however the village is an extremely popular holiday destination for locals, backpackers and adventurers. Local legend holds that the lagoon was created when an inquisitive young hunter disturbed a local princess while she was bathing. She fled, leaving the pool of water behind which became the lagoon. The legend now proclaims that the princess inhabits the lagoon in the form of a mermaid – there’s even a statue depicting this on the lagoon’s banks.

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credit: fjaviergarciaorts

credit: fjaviergarciaorts

credit:  Christopher Crouzet

credit:  Christopher Crouzet

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Masada is an ancient fortification in the Southern District of Israel situated on top of an isolated rock plateau, akin to a mesa. It is located on the eastern edge of the Judaean Desert, overlooking the Dead Sea 20 km east of Arad. The rhomboid-shaped mountain towers 434 metres above the level of the Dead Sea. It was built as a palace complex, in the classic style of the early Roman Empire, by Herod the Great, King of Judaea. Masada is one of the greatest archaeological sites in Israel and, perhaps, across the world. Its dramatic ascent can now be made by cable-car.

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Located in the deep south of Morocco, the Draa Valley stretches from the city of Ouarzazate into the Sahara Desert. The Draa River Valley is over 100 kilometres in length. The Draa Valley is a stunning oasis home to Berber villages, sumptuous Kasbahs, streaming sand dunes, lush green plains, snow-capped Atlas Mountains, endless stretches of palm trees and the Draa, Morocco’s largest river. It was once an important transit point on the trans-Saharan caravan route as well as an important center for Jewish civilization and Arab learning and religion. 225,000 people live in the valley of the Draa, which measures 23,000 km². The valley corresponds with the province of Zagora, created in 1997, in the Souss-Massa-Drâa region. In the province there are 23 villages and two towns: Zagora and Agdz.

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Kolmanskop is located in the Namib Desert in Namibia, Africa. The desert ghost town was named after transport driver Johnny Coleman, which Kolmanskop means Coleman’s Hill in Afrikaans. It is an abandoned diamond mining town in the Namib desert, a few kilometres inland from the port town of Lüderitz. Founded in 1908 when a rail worker named Zacharias Lewala in the area discovered a diamond, the town enjoyed nearly fifty years of history until it was abandoned in 1954 when the diamond mines finally dried up.

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The rover was tested near the European Southern Observatory (ESO) in the Atacama Desert, which is one of the most Mars-like terrains on Earth. The 2018 mission of the ExoMars programme will deliver a European rover and a Russian surface platform to the surface of Mars. A Proton rocket will be used to launch the mission, which will arrive to Mars after a nine-month journey. The mission will drill 30 times deeper beneath the surface of Mars than the currently operating Curiosity rover, reaching a depth of approximately six-and-a-half feet (two meters).

credit: UCL Mathematical and Physical Sciences         Photos: ESO/G. Hudepohl

Nambung National Park is located 245km north of Perth. In the heart of Nambung National Park lies the Pinnacles Desert, one of Australia’s best known landscapes. Nambung National Park covers an area of approximately 17491 hectares. Where, thousands of huge limestone pillars rise from the shifting Sand Dunes and resemble a landscape from another Planet. These amazing natural limestone structures were formed approximately 25,000 to 30,000 years ago, after the sea receded and left deposits of sea shells. It’s truly an amazing place!

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credit: Allan Lee

credit: Allan Lee

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Burning Man is an annual festival in temporary community dedicated to radical self-expression. This event held in the Black Rock Desert in northern Nevada. Tens of thousands of people create temporary metropolis dedicated to art and they depart one week later, having left no trace whatsoever. Festival begins on the last Monday in August, and ends on the first Monday in September.

2013 Ticket Prices:

Holiday Sale: 3,000 ticket available at $650 each, plus applicable fees
Individual Sale: 40,000 ticket are available at $380 each, plus applicable fees
Low Income Program: 4,000 tickets will be available at $190 each
OMG Last Chance Sale: 1000+ ticket are available at $380 each, plus applicable fees

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The Desert Botanical Garden is located in Phoenix, near the Phoenix Zoo in Papago Park. The Garden is placed on 145 acres with 65 acres under cultivation. There are more than 50,000 plant displays showcased in beautiful outdoor exhibits. The garden displays include plants from the cactus, succulent and agave families. Since 1939 it has been home to one of the finest and most diverse collections of succulent plants.

Opening Times:
Hours: 8 a.m. – 8 p.m

Admission prices:
Adults: $18.00
Students: $10.00
Seniors: $15.00
Children: $8.00
Members & Children under 3: Free

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Atacama desert, a 15 million years old desert, located in south America stretches over 1000 kilometers. Located between the Andes and the Pacific Ocean, rises the most arid desert in the world. The Atacama desert is so dry that mountains of height 6,885 m have no glaciers, making them unique in the world. Studies have shown that the Atacama desert received no appreciable rainfall between 1570 and 1971, and some ancient riverbeds appear to have been dry for 12,000 years. The place is pretty cold despite being the driest desert and the temperature ranges between 0°C to 25°C.

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Here are some basic tips for desert driving technique, first rule is drive slow and easy and watch out for wildlife. If you try to drive too fast, you’ll damage tires, break things, second, stay on the top of, not in, the ruts. Put your vehicle in 4-wheel drive before you need it, and shift to low range early to reduce the strain on your vehicle. Range Rover did some desert testing on the Evoque to make sure it can still perform no matter how hot it really gets. Here are some pictures of it being tested in the desert.

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Discover a new way to do yoga. You don’t need any tools but your body and your breath. Once you’ve learned, you can do it anywhere at desert, at home, at the office. Through the teaching and practice of asanas (poses), pranayama (breath), and yoga philosophy, Yoga strives to promote optimum physical health, clarity of mind and spiritual inspiration for all. Yoga is a term for a range of traditional systems of physical exercise and meditation in Hinduism.

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This is realy an amazing gun in gold. The Desert Eagle was originally designed by Bernard C. White of Magnum Research, who filed a US patent application for a mechanism for a gas-actuated pistol in January 1983. Maximum effective range is 200 m. Barrel length could be 6 in (152.4 mm) or 10 in (254.0 mm). Feed system capacities are different : 9 rounds (.357), 8 rounds (.41 and .44), 7 rounds (.440 Cor-bon and .50AE). Three variants of this weapon have been produced: Mark I, Mark VII, Mark XIX.

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