Unexpected experiences in the Qatari desert

The Qatari desert offers some of the planet’s most surreal and splendid scenery – a land of wide-open beauty, shaped by the steady forces of wind and sun. It’s also a place of solitude, where a slow camel ride across time-worn tracks connects remote campsites to settlements that seem to blend into their surroundings.

Look closer (or ask a local) and you might be surprised by how much there is to see in the sand. The Qatari desert offers history to be found, fun to be had, sights to be explored and memories to be made. Come see this spiritual tapestry, one of the few places in the world where the sea meets the desert, and leave changed forever.

Get to know the deserts

In Qatar you’ll find two different types of deserts. Picture-perfect sandy dunes hem the Khor Al Adaid, the Inland Sea. They are an extension of the Rub-al-Khali, the Empty Quarter that stretches along Oman, Saudi Arabia and the UAE and is the world’s largest sand desert. Then there is the hamada, a land of otherworldly rock formations like the ones found in the north-western region of Zekreet.

The astonishing Khor Al Adaid, on UNESCO’s tentative world heritage list for its ethereal beauty, is one of the main attractions in Qatar. Stunning ever-shifting sand dunes lie beside the turquoise waters of the ‘Inland Sea,’ a salty inlet from the Gulf.

The dunes seem to beg to be explored and if you answer the call, you should definitely go by 4WD. Hire a local, skilled driver to take the wheel and show you what’s possible, going at high speeds up, down and across the dunes in an exhilarating joyride.

Make time for a picnic along the coastline of the inlet – between November and March it’s alive with pink flamingos who spend the winter here. You can also ride camels through the dunes, slide on sand boards down the soft swells, go scuba diving in the warm, inviting waters, or stay the night in a Bedouin camp. Settle down after sunset for a barbecue dinner by a bonfire, gaze at the stars in the seemingly endless sky unspoiled by light pollution, then wake to watch the sun rise over the dunes.

For an unexpected audio experience you can’t get anywhere else, search out the so-called Singing…