Namibia

Even more dramatic landscapes can be found along the Skeleton Coast, a national park that covers the northern half of Namibia’s coastline. The name comes from the bones of whales and other sea creatures that were left on the shore by the whaling industry. It later became associated with shipwrecks—a thousand of them, caused by the rocks, fog, and heavy surf of the coast. Today, travelers can stay at the Shipwreck Lodge, with 10 chalets built to look like they were just cast off from a particularly rough tide. A drive to Cape Cross Seal Reserve reveals a breeding colony for fur seals, and farther south, in Walvis Bay, a microalgae called Dunaliella salina turns the water a sunset combination of orange and pink. The bay is also home to a restaurant on stilts, accessible only by boat.

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To the south of the Skeleton Coast is the Namib Desert, one of the world’s only coastal deserts, also known as the “Sand Sea,” so dry that the wildlife (such as dune larks and reptiles) survive off of moisture from the fog. While most travelers will head directly to the Sossusvlei, a prehistoric riverbed surrounded by towering red dunes, the sandscapes of the surrounding desert are just as thrilling. In the shadow of those red dunes lies Dead Vlei, Afrikaans for “dead marsh,” which has been completely desiccated, leaving behind trees to dry and decompose. (You may recognize the landscape from the film Mad Max: Fury Road.) Toward the coast, past a herd of desert horses, lies Kolmanskop, a ghost town where sand has overtaken buildings once constructed to support diamond mining operations. The crowds are minimal, and haunting images lurk at every turn.