Oman today_ The reddish-orange dunes, mysterious fairy circles, and skeletal trees scattered across an uninhabited desert evoke more of Mars than a coastal desert in southwestern Africa. Located along the Atlantic Ocean, this ancient and enigmatic desert is one of the driest places on Earth, with an estimated age of 55 million years.
If you’re venturing into the Namib to see giraffes, rhinos, elephants, ostriches, and other unique wildlife, don’t miss the chance to explore the millions of strange, unexplained circles—believed by some locals to be the landing marks of alien spacecraft. Also worth visiting is the haunting Skeleton Coast, home to the remains of whales and shipwrecks trapped by the desert’s eerie allure.
Namib Desert
