DESTINATION DESERT: From igloo domes to spaceship-inspired structures, travel writer Karen Gardiner showcases the world’s most secluded and spectacular places to stay – all in extreme landscapes

I love extreme landscapes – those places where nature makes you look up and notice. I prefer my sand in a raw red desert than on a pristine white beach.

A sunny beach wants to please you, but the desert challenges you to take it on. It is a grim landscape, but sublime in its loneliness, starry sky, silence and space. Not to mention beauty.

My first taste of the desert was in Australia’s Northern Territory, where the hot air felt like an impact and the red earth resembled a firestorm.

Having spent most of my life up to that point in Scotland, it was a sensation that felt outside of my then small world. That feeling, and the desert, have been tugging at me ever since. Here are some of my favorites…

SALINAS GRANDES CAMP, Argentina

You’ll need to pack your sunglasses for a trip to the vast, dazzling white salt flats of the Salinas Grandes in northwestern Argentina’s Jujuy Province.

This dazzling landscape – a lake that dried up long ago, leaving a thick salt crust that is reflected during the rainy season (below) – is one of the country’s most breathtaking sights, especially on a clear day.

Visitors can enjoy the silence by spending the night in one of Pristine Travel Group’s four igloos-inspired domes. To maintain the sense of seclusion and exclusivity of the camp, there is a capacity of only ten guests.

From around £360 per night full board based on two people, pristinecamps.com

DESERT WHISPERING, Namibia

From around £820 per night full board based on two people, gondwana-collection.com

There’s seclusion and then there’s Desert Whisper, a hideaway for two. Resembling a spaceship that has landed on a rock in one of the driest places on Earth, this pod-shaped villa is one of just a handful of accommodation options in the privately owned Gondwana Collection Namibia in the Namib Desert. It sits high above the desert sands in stark terrain, about an hour’s drive from Sossusvlei. As otherworldly as Desert Whisper may seem, its striking design is inspired by nature. Architect Sven Staby was inspired by the hardy endemic Nara plant from Namib, which has a tough, leafless outer skin that can survive the harsh desert climate.

From around £820 per night full board based on two people, gondwana-collection.com

CAMP SARIKA, Utah

Set amid an otherworldly 600-acre Wild West landscape of rust-colored sand, slot canyons and mighty plateaus, Camp Sarika is the rugged flagship of the exclusive Aman Resorts.

A ‘camp’ in the loosest sense of the word, this luxury retreat consists of a communal lounge, restaurant and pool area, plus a cluster of one- and two-bedroom canvas-roofed pavilions, each with its own terrace and heated private pool. plunge pool – all quietly placed in the landscape, far enough apart that you never have to see another guest again. Bliss.

From around £2,900 per night full board based on two people, aman.com

OUR HABITAS ALULA, Saudi Arabia

From around £340 per night including breakfast, based on two people, ourhabitas.com

Alula is one of the oldest regions of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a central trading hub along the Silk Road and the Frankincense Route from South Arabia, steeped in history. Alula, the first Saudi outpost of the Our Habitas tour group, sits inconspicuously in the desert canyons of the Ashar Valley and is surrounded by ocher cliffs and palm groves. All buildings are aware of the impact on the environment and are made using an innovative modular technique that has no impact on the environment.

The 96 detached villas are evenly spaced to ensure maximum privacy and views of the golden sands and rocky, wind-sculpted outcrops that stretch to the horizon.

From around £340 per night including breakfast, based on two people, ourhabitas.com

SAN CAMP, Botswana

From around £1,400 per night full board based on two people, naturalselection.travel

San Camp consists of seven undulating canvas tents, located amid grassland on the edge of the Ntwetwe Pan in Botswana’s legendary Makgadikgadi. It was one of the largest salt pans in the world and was once a super lake covering most of Botswana.

Inside the tents you’ll find enormous four-poster beds high above Persian carpets, mahogany writing desks and leather armchairs – an elegant contrast to your rugged surroundings. The entire camp is part of the conservation-focused tour group Natural Selection and runs on solar energy to reduce its impact on the environment. When darkness falls, you will find lanterns scattered throughout the camp to light the way and set the mood.

From around £1,400 per night full board based on two people, naturalselection.travel

This is an edited extract from Desert Escapes by Karen Gardiner, approx £45, lannoopublishers.com*

*To order a copy for £38.25 WITH FREE DELIVERY UNTIL SEPTEMBER 24, GO TO MAILSHOP.CO.UK/BOOKS OR CALL 020 3176 2937