Rub al-Khali, Saudi Arabia

Almost a third of the Arabian Peninsula is occupied by Rub al-Khali Desert, and its hottest area is situated in Saudi Arabia. Temperature record, which was placed in the desert, was 56°C. Taking into account that no more than 35 mm of rainfall fall in the desert yearly, this fact doesn’t seem surprising. Rub al-Khali Desert is considered one of the most inclement on the planet; foot researchers succeeded to overcome it for the first time only in 2013. Desert area of 650,000 km² is situated in four different states: Saudi Arabia, Yemen, UAE and Oman.

Main attractions of the desert are sand dunes, which can reach a height of 250 meters. Sand contains a significant portion of the iron oxide, that’s why it has orange and red hues. Literally, Rub al-Khali can be translated from Arabic as ‘a desert place’ that fully reflects the reality. You can travel the desert a few days, but won’t find any signs of life on its territory. There are rare oases in the outskirts of the Rub al-Khali. Rich oil deposits found in the desert are of great value to humanity. Next - Odnadatta