Desert & arid landscapes.
Towns that learned to do more with less water.
Orce
A compact Andalusian village of whitewashed houses crowned by a medieval castle tower and a substantial church, set against an arid, eroded badlands landscap…
San Luis Río Colorado
This border city in Mexico's Sonoran Desert, San Luis Río Colorado sits at the northwestern corner of Sonora where it meets both Baja California and the Unit…
Yuxarı Əylis
This compact village set in a bare mountain valley in Azerbaijan's Naxchivan region, where flat-roofed earthen buildings cluster around a conical-roofed ston…
Clyde
This low-rise Otago town spread across a wide river valley, with arid ranges rising behind, a handful of cafés punching above its size, and the Clutha River…
Matalascañas
A coastal resort village on Spain's longest beach, Matalascañas sits at the edge of Doñana National Park in Huelva province, with fine golden sand, mobile du…
Tabernas
Tabernas sits on the edge of the only desert in continental Europe, a sun-scorched landscape that served as the backdrop for dozens of spaghetti westerns and…
Oranjestad
Aruba's colorful capital spreads across low, arid terrain toward a volcanic peak on the horizon, its walkable waterfront centre packed with vividly painted D…
Ahmedpur East
Sadiq Garh Palace, a century-old residence of the Nawabs of Bahawalpur, stands in this Punjab city near the Cholistan Desert and once hosted guests ranging f…
Shibam
Shibam's skyline of mudbrick high-rises — some reaching sixteen stories — rising from Yemen's Wadi Hadhramaut has earned this modest walled town the nickname…
Qir Moav
Jordanian hilltop town dominated by a vast crusader-era stone fortress whose walls stretch across an arid ridge, with the surrounding valleys and proximity t…
Yeruham
Compact desert town in Israel's Negev, Yeruham sits amid vast arid highlands with a reservoir at its edge and serves as a practical base for exploring the su…
Real de Catorce
Once a booming silver-mining settlement high in the Sierra de Catorce of northern San Luis Potosí, Real de Catorce has reinvented itself as a destination aft…
Hellevoetsluis
A waterfront town in South Holland, Hellevoetsluis sits on the Haringvliet with sea, beach, and dunes close by, and a walkable centre with cafés and restaura…
Tres Arroyos Partido
This Buenos Aires province partido with roughly 100 km of Atlantic Ocean beach frontage, taking in the coastal resorts of Claromecó, Reta, and Orense along t…
Aqaba
Jordan's only coastal city sits on the Red Sea at the country's southern tip, known for diving along its Red Sea reefs and a walkable centre with a dense caf…
Needles
This modest Mojave Desert city on the western bank of the Colorado River, Needles sits at the California border with Arizona and Nevada, with mountain views…
Iruya
Founded in 1753 high on the eastern slopes of the Sierra de Santa Victoria in Salta Province, Iruya is a little Argentine town surrounded on two sides by the…
Koksijde
A Belgian North Sea coast town where rolling sand dunes meet a dense grid of red-tile houses, offering a walkable food scene, direct beach access, and easy r…
Arica
Chile's northernmost city sits on the Pacific coast where two Atacama Desert valleys meet, earning its reputation as the "city of the eternal spring" through…
Navojoa
Mid-size Mexican city in Sonora's Mayo River Valley, Navojoa centers on a broad plaza anchored by a white colonial-style clock tower building, palm trees, an…
Hofuf
This substantial Arabian city set within a vast oasis, where a large mud-brick fortress with rounded towers rises at a busy intersection, surrounded by date-…
Lakeview
Billing itself as the "Tallest Town in Oregon," Lakeview sits high in the Warner Mountains at the edge of the state's high desert country, with Goose Lake cl…
Rafsanjan
Mid-sized city in Iran's Kerman province, Rafsanjan draws visitors with its striking traditional brick architecture — as seen in this colonnaded courtyard bu…
Orosei
This small Sardinian town on the Gulf of Orosei, with beaches including Cala Ginepro, Cala Liberotto, and the Bidderosa Oasis stretching along a long coastline.
Jamay
This lakeside town in eastern Jalisco, Jamay sits on the shore of Lake Chapala with mountains in the surrounding terrain.
Rustaq
Ringed by dozens of traditional falaj water channels — ancient underground irrigation systems that surface as tiny rivers and streams threading through palm…
Bakanas
A pocket-sized town on the Ili River in Kazakhstan's Almaty region, Bakanas draws fishermen, hunters, and archaeologists to the ancient settlements of the Il…
Goulmima
This agricultural oasis town in Morocco's Drâa-Tafilalet region, Goulmima sits along the Wadi Gheris river fed by the central High Atlas mountains, with a ca…
Fillmore
Fillmore, a compact city in Utah's Millard County, served as the capital of the Utah Territory from 1851 to 1856, and the original Territorial Statehouse fro…
Dhale
Small Yemeni highland town where a tall stone minaret and domed mosque rise before densely stacked stone buildings, with a hilltop fortress commanding the ar…
Kasba Tadla
A Moroccan town on the Oum Er-Rbia river where ochre-walled kasbah fortifications rise dramatically above low street-level buildings, with upland country nea…
Shluhot
This compact religious kibbutz set among broad agricultural fields in the Beit She'an Valley, with rows of date palms and orchards spreading across the valle…
Tomarza
A small Anatolian town spread across vast golden farmland southeast of a snow-capped volcanic peak, Tomarza is a working agricultural district known for its…
Santa Ana
This small Sonoran Desert town on Mexico's northern highway corridor, with a striking pale-stone cathedral featuring rose windows and a golden dome rising ab…
Petorca
A low-rise Chilean valley town spread between dry Andean hillsides, with terraced cultivation visible on the slopes above and a river corridor of green threa…
Trujillo
Chan Chan, the largest adobe city in the ancient world and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1986, sits within the metropolitan area of this large coastal c…
Iquique
A port city on Chile's northern Pacific coast, Iquique is one of only two free ports in the country, home to the ZOFRI duty-free zone — one of the largest fr…
Natal
Founded on Christmas Day in 1599 on the banks of the Potengi River, Natal is the coastal capital of Rio Grande do Norte in northeastern Brazil, with Atlantic…
Rosh Pinah
A compact desert mining town set dramatically against bare, rugged mountain ranges, with low-rise streets giving way almost immediately to vast arid plains s…
Ludington
A little Lake Michigan city at the mouth of the Pere Marquette River, Ludington is the home port of the SS Badger, a vehicle and passenger ferry that crosses…
Dammaj
A modest Yemeni valley town where mud-brick buildings and irrigated green fields line a dry riverbed, set against arid upland terrain, with a historically si…
Susanville
Susanville, the county seat of Lassen County in northeastern California, sits along the Susan River at high elevation in the Sierra Nevada foothills, with mo…
Boulaouane
This large red-earth kasbah with crenellated walls crowns a dry hillside above the Oum Er-Rbia River, making this small Moroccan town a rewarding stop for an…
Alamosa
This small Colorado city on the Rio Grande, Alamosa serves as the commercial hub of the San Luis Valley and the seat of Alamosa County.
Khor'fakkan
A coastal town on the Gulf of Oman belonging to the emirate of Sharjah, Khor'fakkan sits where mountains curve around the shoreline to form a natural harbour.
Jocotan
This little town in Guatemala's Chiquimula department, close to the Honduran border and near mountains, Jocotán is home to Radio Chortis, a Roman Catholic ra…
Kurtalan
A compact town in southeastern Türkiye's Siirt province, Kurtalan sits amid sweeping golden upland plains with distant mountain ridges visible on the horizon…
New Cairo
Founded in 2000 to ease the pressure on Greater Cairo, New Cairo is a planned satellite city on the eastern arc of the capital, built around gated communitie…
Ta'if
A high-altitude city in western Saudi Arabia, Ta'if sits in the mountains east of Mecca — historically a summer retreat for residents of the Hijaz region tha…
Tupiza
This walkable town in Bolivia's Potosí Department, Tupiza sits among dramatic red escarpments rising from arid terrain, with the Tupiza River running nearby…
Salinas
Ecuador's most prominent beach resort sits at the westernmost tip of the South American mainland, on the Santa Elena Peninsula.
Tinghir
A Moroccan oasis town in the Drâa-Tafilalet region, Tinghir sits along the Wadi Todgha where a dense palm grove stretches for miles through a corridor betwee…
Foum Zguid
A lively compact town in southeastern Morocco's arid uplands, where rose-pink buildings line a wide dusty main street backed by dramatic bare mountains, and…
Llanwrtyd Wells
Claiming the title of Britain's smallest town — a distinction it contests with Fordwich in Kent — Llanwrtyd Wells sits on the Afon Irfon in Powys, Wales, clo…
Beni Mellal
A city at the foot of the western Middle Atlas mountains in north-central Morocco, Beni Mellal has a walkable centre with a dense café and restaurant scene.
Piura
Founded by Francisco Pizarro in 1532 as the first Spanish city established in South America, Piura is a large commercial city in northwestern Peru's Piura Ri…
Ait Benhaddou
A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987, Aït Benhaddou is a fortified earthen-clay village on the historic caravan route between the Sahara and Marrakesh, an…
Ouarzazat
Morocco's film-production capital, Ouarzazate sits in south-central Morocco where the Draa Valley meets the desert, hosting the country's largest studios and…
Chebika
Elevated ruins of a crumbled mud-brick settlement overlook a desert oasis village in Tunisia's southwest, where date palms break the vast flat expanse stretc…
Domburg
One of the oldest coastal resort towns in the Netherlands, Domburg sits on the North Sea coast of Walcheren in the province of Zeeland, with beaches, dunes,…