Last April, I parked my 4WD on a cracked dry lake bed 17 miles off the nearest paved road in Nevada's Great Basin Desert, killed my headlights, and stepped out into a sky so thick with stars I could barely make out the Big Dipper I'd traced a thousand times as a kid. There was no hum of distant highways, no glow from a nearby town, no flicker of a cell tower---just the soft chirp of crickets, the smell of sagebrush, and a river of pale light stretching so far across the sky I had to tilt my head all the way back to see its edge. That's the magic of remote desert stargazing: these barren, sparsely populated landscapes are some of the last places on Earth where you can see the night sky the way humans saw it for thousands of years, before electric light washed out the stars for most of the world's population.
Why Deserts Are the World's Best Stargazing Playgrounds
Most of the world's top stargazing spots are deserts, and for good reason. Their low humidity means almost no atmospheric distortion to blur starlight, their minimal cloud cover delivers clear skies 300+ nights a year, their high elevation (most major deserts sit at least 2,000 feet above sea level) puts you above much of the haze and pollution that clogs lower-altitude skies, and their sparse population means almost no light pollution to wash out faint stars and deep-sky objects. Unlike popular national park stargazing spots that fill up with crowds on weekends, the remote desert locations below are almost always empty, and the only light you'll see for miles is the glow of the stars themselves.
Great Basin Desert Backcountry, Nevada, USA
For U.S.-based stargazers, this is the holy grail of low-effort, high-reward remote stargazing. Skip the crowded overlooks at Great Basin National Park and head 30 miles east of the small town of Winnemucca, to the unmarked dry lake beds that sit on Bureau of Land Management land right off the paved Highway 80. There's no cell service, no designated campsites, and almost no other visitors---when I went last spring, I didn't see another car for 48 hours. The area is part of the newly designated Great Basin Dark Sky Sanctuary, one of only 21 in the world, which bans new outdoor lighting in a 150-mile radius to protect the night sky. At 4,500 feet elevation, with zero light pollution for hundreds of miles in every direction and flat, unobstructed horizons, you can see the Andromeda Galaxy with the naked eye, and the Milky Way is so bright it casts a faint shadow on the ground. The only catch? Bring all the water and supplies you need---there are no services for 100 miles in any direction, and summer temperatures can hit 100°F during the day, while winter nights drop below freezing.
Remote Atacama Salt Flats, Chile
The Atacama Desert is the driest non-polar place on Earth, with some weather stations going years without recording a single drop of rain. Its high elevation (most of the desert sits above 8,000 feet), bone-dry air, and complete lack of light pollution make it one of the best stargazing spots on the planet, and home to the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), the world's most powerful radio telescope array. Skip the busy stargazing tours based out of San Pedro de Atacama and hire a local Atacamaño guide to take you to the remote salt flats of Salar de Talar, 2 hours outside the town. There are no other visitors, no paved roads, and the only light for 50 miles is the glow of the stars. The extremely dry air means stars twinkle far less than they do in more humid climates, appearing sharp and steady to the naked eye. Because you're in the Southern Hemisphere, you can see the Magellanic Clouds, two dwarf galaxies that orbit the Milky Way, with the naked eye, and through a small telescope you can spot the bright pink glow of the Carina Nebula, a star-forming region 8,500 light-years from Earth. I went last July, and our guide pointed out a meteor shower so intense we counted 12 shooting stars in 10 minutes, all streaking across a sky so bright I didn't need a headlamp to walk back to our camp.
NamibRand Nature Reserve, Namibia
Most visitors to Namibia head straight for the crowded Sossusvlei dunes, but the remote stretches of the NamibRand Nature Reserve, a certified International Dark Sky Reserve, are almost completely empty of tourists, and offer some of the most surreal stargazing experiences on the planet. The reserve spans 1,700 square miles of untouched desert, with no permanent settlements, no paved roads, and no artificial light outside of the small, low-impact lodges that sit on its edges. The deep red sand of the Namib dunes holds heat long after sunset, so you can lie back on a warm dune crest and watch the stars while the desert cools around you. Because there is zero light pollution for hundreds of miles, you can see the zodiacal light---a faint, triangular glow along the ecliptic caused by sunlight reflecting off dust particles in the inner solar system---that most people will never get to see in their lifetime. I camped on a dune ridge here last winter, and when we put out our small campfire, the sky was so bright I could read a book by starlight alone.
Dasht-e Lut Salt Flats, Iran
One of the hottest places on Earth, the Dasht-e Lut Desert in southeastern Iran is also one of the darkest. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, its remote salt flats and jagged rock formations are almost completely uninhabited, with only a handful of small villages scattered across its 20,000 square miles. Because of its extreme heat and remote location, it sees almost no international tourists, and the night sky is almost entirely free of light pollution. Note that you should check your home country's official travel advisories before planning a trip to Iran, and you will need to hire a licensed local guide to visit the remote areas of the desert, as well as respect local cultural and religious customs during your visit. The desert's bright white salt flats reflect the starlight softly, so the whole landscape feels like you're floating in a sea of pale light under a sky full of diamonds. The desert's high elevation (average 2,300 feet) and extremely dry air mean there is almost no atmospheric distortion, so stars look pin-sharp, with no twinkling. If you visit during the new moon, you can see the faint glow of the gegenschein---a faint patch of light opposite the sun, caused by sunlight reflecting off interplanetary dust---with the naked eye.
Simpson Desert, Australia
The world's largest sand dune desert, Australia's Simpson Desert stretches across 65,000 square miles of remote outback in the Northern Territory, South Australia, and Queensland. Its most famous feature is its parallel red sand dunes, some of which rise more than 150 feet high, but its biggest draw for stargazers is its complete lack of light pollution: there are no towns larger than 1,000 people within 200 miles of most of the desert's remote stretches. The best stargazing spots are the remote dune crests in the northern Simpson, accessible only by 4WD, where you can camp alone under a sky so full of stars you can't pick out individual constellations at first. The deep red sand of the dunes looks almost black after dark, so the only color in the landscape is the soft glow of the stars above, and the faint orange of your campfire if you light one. During the southern winter (June to August), the center of the Milky Way passes directly overhead, and you can see its bright, glowing core with the naked eye. I did a 10-day 4WD trip here a few years ago, and the only sound for most of my nights under the stars was the wind blowing softly over the dunes.
Essential Prep for Remote Desert Stargazing
Remote desert stargazing requires a little extra planning, since you'll be far from help and services. First, always check the moon phase before you go: new moon nights give the darkest skies, while a full moon will wash out all but the brightest stars. Bring a red-light headlamp, not a white one: red light doesn't ruin your night vision, so you can still see the stars clearly after you turn it on. Pack more water, food, and warm layers than you think you need: desert temperatures can drop 30°F or more after sunset, even in the summer, and there's no shelter or services if you run low on supplies. Always tell a trusted friend or family member your exact itinerary and expected return date before you head out, since most remote desert areas have no cell service. And if you're visiting a protected area, follow Leave No Trace principles: pack out all your trash, stay on designated routes to avoid damaging fragile desert ecosystems, and don't disturb any nocturnal wildlife, from desert reptiles to kangaroos that may be active at night.
The Stars Are Waiting
There's something humbling about lying in a remote desert, looking up at a sky full of stars that have been shining for billions of years, long before humans ever existed to look up at them. In a world where most of us live under a permanent glow of artificial light, these remote desert spots are a rare reminder of what the night sky is supposed to look like. The next time you're craving a break from the noise and light of city life, pack up your telescope (or even just a blanket and a star chart), head out to one of these remote deserts, and spend a night under the stars. You won't regret it.