Nubra is an isolated valley and even closed to outsiders, a place away from any path of travel and accessible by a path that is the biggest step up the planet, frozen most of the year (even in summer). India is another place that reminds me of the little known area of Zanskar. Nubra is a space walled desert the Mountains Karakoram, and shaped by the Shyok River which has underpinned much of life, including the ancient cultures that inhabit it.
In its extension, succeeded by rocky deserts, incredible dune areas and environments where grazing pastures for Bactrian camels. It’s also highlighted by landscapes that sometimes look like postcards from another planet. Nubra Ladakh region, the “land of high passes” is often referred to as the “Little Tibet” because of its appearance and indigenous culture.
Interestingly, despite their appearance and inhospitable to its original name (Ldumra) refers to a “valley of flowers”, but in practice it is a strange high desert, where rainfall is low, as the vegetation only emerges with the riverbeds.
Access to the Nubra Valley is no easy task for two reasons: there is only one way to Nubra Valley (although a couple of years ago was running another), a road in height, but also there are access restrictions in certain areas for non-residents, mainly because it is a border area. The stay allowed is only seven days, and it is advisable to book early boarding houses, especially in summer when demand increases.
From Leh, the former capital of the kingdom of Ladakh, Nubra is part of the route in what is now the province of Jammu and Kashmir, a region that even in summer is covered by a layer of ice.
They have the size and the number of tourists to the most famous pyramids in Egypt. But the archaeological complex of pyramids of Meroe, in the Nubian Desert (northern Sudan) are impressive from afar, solitary, and enclosed by huge sand dunes, form an intriguing environment yet otherwise beautiful.
It is located 200 kilometers from the capital of Sudan, and the complex preserves the remains of the capital of an ancient kingdom, one of the earliest civilizations in the valley of the Nile that the Nubians also called Kush. Meroe, also refers to United Meroitic, a civilization that had its heyday between 400 a.C. and 300 d.C.
The pyramids of Meroe are located on the banks of a wide bend of the Nile, and its ruins are revealed palaces, court buildings, temples and the remains of the city itself, with walls, smaller temples, shrines and a necropolis with thousands of tombs. Although the largest pyramid is less than 30 meters high, more than 100 of angles prominent, and still, impressive.
Sudan reportedly lives in the shadow of Egyptian archaeology, although it remains a paradise for archaeologists, a less explored territory and many of its secrets yet to be revealed. So much so that with small teams of archaeologists, in each scan are discovered vast palaces, and temples in places which were not even expected to find anything.
If we imagined a desert ideal for an adventure film in places that look fantastic, no need to model it in a 3D animation program. It would suffice to move to Algeria and the desert of Tassili n’Ajjer.
Tassili n’Ajjer is a landscape almost unknown in the big leagues tourism, but recognized as a World Heritage Site since 1982. In the desert of Sahara, emerges a mountainous area which reaches 2,158 meters above sea level and exposes many wonders: a forest of cypress trees in the sand, archaeological sites, and above all, incredible eroded sandstone forms, over 300 natural arches rocks and structures that are most curious and striking.
The area is also famous for the numerous paintings and engravings, an “art gallery” of the Upper Paleolithic and Neolithic reflecting wildlife and customs of those who inhabited the region.
Interestingly, in the rock paintings of Tassili n’Ajjer, there are remains of animals such as giraffes, elephants, and signs of a fertile, moist ecosystem, before the Sahara began to dry. However, this area holds many surprises and wilderness wonders worth visiting.
