Deserts can be vast, desolate landscapes where nothing exists for hundreds of miles around. But there are impressive and inspiring places hidden even in the world's most remote locations. From sand sculptures and hidden springs to luxury hotels and designer boutiques, these landmarks are located in some of the world’s most inhospitable spots.

This sinkhole in Yemen's remote eastern desert landscape looms large in the local people's imagination. Nicknamed Hell Pit and Well of Hell, it's central to many legends, including one that claims it's a prison for demons. The well is around 100-feet (30m) wide and is thought to be as much as 820-feet (250m) deep. No one has ever been to the bottom of the sinkhole, but a local geological crew reached a depth of around 170 feet (52m) and reported foul smells, lack of oxygen and no ventilation.

Are these circular patches, dotted over the Namibian desert in their millions, the work of gods, aliens or, erm, termites? Obviously one answer is more sensible than the others and it’s also the most logical theory scientists have come up with for the so-called fairy circles, which are only found here and in some parts of Australia. There’s still no official explanation and studies continue.

This rugged, impressive fortress in the middle of the Judaean desert is hewn into the rock face, blending in with the surrounding landscape. Built by King Herod in 30 BC, Masada is one of the most important archaeological sites in Israel. Its UNESCO-listed camps, fortifications and attack ramp that encircles the complex are incredibly well-preserved.

Visitors can reach Masada by foot on a winding path up to the high fortress, or by a cable car that runs from the tourist centre at the foot. Many people choose to climb at sunrise for incredible views of the Moab mountains and the Dead Sea.

There’s a secret oasis hiding inside a canyon in Oman’s Al Sharqiyah Region, with crystal-clear water and lush vegetation. Known as Wadi Shab, it's a popular escape with three stunning pools to swim in which are all connected by a hiking trail. One of the most beautiful features here is the Wadi Shab waterfall which is hidden in a cave. The only way to access it is to swim through a small gap in the rocks so it should only be attempted by confident swimmers.

A 5-star luxury hotel and spa is the last thing you’d expect to find in the middle of the Sharjah desert but that's exactly where Mysk Al Faya Retreat is located. Formerly a clinic and grocery store, the two stone buildings that make up the hotel were originally built over half a century ago. Just 22 miles (35km) from Dubai airport, it's nearly equidistant from the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.

This five-room boutique hotel really does offer an escape from it all. Over the road a new building houses a salt-water spa complete with an open-air swimming pool. Each bedroom has its own star-gazing skylight and there’s also a fire pit primed for recapping the day's many adventures.

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The desert kingdom of Petra is Jordan’s prize treasure and a wonder of the world. Carved into rock face more than 2,000 years ago by the Nabataeans (a nomadic tribe who eventually settled), it became the capital of their wealthy trade empire. The Siq, Treasury, Colonnaded Street, High Place of Sacrifice, Royal Tombs and theatre (pictured) are a few highlights of the vast site. When the Nabataean civilisation declined it was taken over by the Romans.

There's always more being discovered at the site. Modern technology has helped researchers uncover a giant platform, a similar size to an Olympic swimming pool. After poring over satellite and drone images, archaeologists noticed a large rectangular structure not far from the famous Treasury (pictured). It’s thought that the structure was once lined with columns, and experts muse that it could have been a holy building, or some sort of public administrative building.

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As Sinai’s most important religious site, Saint Catherine’s Monastery is a significant location for followers of Christianity, Islam and Judaism, and normally is regularly visited by intrigued tourists on day trips from Sharm El Sheikh. Founded in the 6th century, the monastery is located at the foot of Mount Horeb, where, according to the Old Testament, Moses received the ten commandments.

Sadly the monastery’s location on the Sinai Peninsula makes it an unsafe spot for tourists at this time. Many governments have warned their citizens not to visit the Sinai Peninsula due to threats of terrorism and frequent attacks both on security forces and civilians. The COVID-19 pandemic has also made travel to this region extremely complicated.

It's not just historic ruins you'll find in the world's deserts. Anyone who’s seen the 2006 horror movie The Hills Have Eyes might recognise the stretch of desert outside the city of Ouarzazate in Morocco, which doubled for the US West Coast. In the film, Gas Haven petrol station is where the family first hear of a shortcut through the desert from the store’s creepy clerk.

Gas Haven isn't the only movie location in the area either. It was actually the producers of Lawrence of Arabia (1962) who first saw the potential in the desert outside of Ouarzazate. They needed a location to stand in for Western Asia, with consistent weather and a remote position near the Sahara and Morocco's wilderness fitted the bill. But it wasn't until 1983 that these studios officially opened, providing sets for re-enactments of biblical locations, ancient civilisations and brilliant works of fiction alike.

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Views don’t get much better than the one at Longitude 131°. The luxury desert basecamp sits in the shadow of Uluru (Ayers Rock), the massive sandstone monolith at the heart of Australia’s Northern Territories and World Heritage-listed wilderness.

With its spa, gourmet food and luxurious bedrooms, Longitude 131° is the last thing you’d expect to find in such a remote location. It's also home to Table 131° – a private dining spot under the stars.

Tataouine, a desert city in southern Tunisia, is known for the unique cave architecture of its Berber population. Visitors come to admire its fortifications but there's another reason why the spot is so popular...

The city features in George Lucas’ intergalactic saga Star Wars, most predominantly in the first of the prequels, 1999’s Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. It stands in for Tatooine, the home planet of Anakin Skywalker, who grows up to become super villain Darth Vader.

Death Valley, straddling the border of California and Nevada, is one of the world’s hottest places which makes it even more astounding that someone decided to build a sprawling villa in the middle of this arid landscape. Chicago millionaire Albert Mussey Johnson built Scotty’s Castle in the 1920s and named it after notorious prospector, performer and conman Walter Scott, with whom Johnson struck up an unlikely friendship.

In 1970, Death Valley National Park purchased Scotty’s Castle which was being used as a guesthouse. Around 100,000 people typically visit the Mission and Spanish Colonial Revival-style villa each year due to its convenient location around a three-hour drive from Las Vegas. However, the villa was damaged by severe flooding in 2015 and has not been open to the public since. There's suggestion this mesmerising desert attraction could open next year.

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Around 500 miles (805km) north of Adelaide and 430 miles (692km) south of Alice Springs, the two nearest major settlements, Coober Pedy is as remote as it gets. The townspeople are renowned for living in underground residences (or dugouts) that allow them to escape the extreme heat and dust storms so common in the Australian outback. It's also known as the opal capital of the world, after the semi-precious stones were discovered here in 1915.

Since 1988, the Desert Cave Hotel has welcomed visitors to this unusual attraction, offering guests the opportunity to experience a night deep underground. Opal mining machinery was used to cut away the sandstone, creating quiet, cool, dark and airy chambers in which the hotel was brought to life. The Desert Cave Hotel also has underground shops, a café, a bar and gaming room.

Kolmanskop was once one the world’s richest towns, thanks to the discovery of diamond deposits in the early 20th century. Around a thousand workers were brought in to mine the site in the Namib desert, which lies about nine miles (14km) east of the harbour town Lüderitz. The town thrived until an even bigger diamond deposit was discovered in 1928, 160 miles (257km) south of Kolmanskop, causing many workers to leave for pastures new.

Kolmanskop was ultimately abandoned in 1956 and in fewer than 50 years the town had lived, flourished and died. At the peak of its popularity the town bloomed with lush gardens, manicured lawns, rose beds and eucalyptus trees, and boasted a ballroom, theatre, sports hall, casino and ice factory. Over the past six decades, the town has been reclaimed by the Namib desert and many of the homes are disappearing into the sand dunes.

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The Amangiri resort is a great example of a hotel which takes careful measures not to disturb its surroundings. Surrounded by some of North America’s most beautiful rock formations which have remained untouched for millions of years, Amangiri sits at the heart of the Grand Circle within easy reach of the Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon, Zion National Park and Monument Valley.

With nothing apart from impressive arid landscapes for miles, it's a truly off-grid getaway. Guests can expect seriously high-spec suites, a spa with desert views and a top restaurant, as well as exciting activities that include everything from fossil digs to climbing expeditions and even private plane tours of Lake Powell.

Greek art collective D.A.ST. Arteam created this eye-catching installation in 1997 near the resort town of El Gouna in the Sahara Desert. The 280,000-square-foot (26,012sq m), spiral-shaped sand sculpture radiates out from a vessel, 100 feet (30m) in diameter, that was once filled with water, which has since evaporated. The piece consists of 89 protruding cones that gradually increase in size. The artwork is slowly being reclaimed by nature and the artists have said they created this unusual installation to serve as an instrument to measure the passage of time.

Around 300 figures, from a spider to a hummingbird, are etched into the sands in the southern Peruvian desert, with some lines stretching more than five miles (3.2km). The pre-Columbian geoglyphs, which cover around 200 miles (322km), long had celestial associations or were seen as a giant calendar. Now the most popular theory is that they marked the locations of rituals surrounding water and crops – although the truth remains elusive.

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Astronauts have been watching the Richat Structure – also known as the Eye of Sahara – in Ouadane since humans first entered space. Viewed from the International Space Station, the 30-mile (48.2km) wide swirl resembles a bull’s eye or snail’s shell. The geological quirk was believed to be a crater caused by a meteorite but it’s now thought it was once a dome that has eroded over time and left its mark on the desert.

Famed for its mouthwatering cuisine and breathtaking landscapes, Morocco is a destination high on many people’s must-visit lists. While most will travel to places like the capital Marrakech, surfer’s paradise Essaouira or the famous coastal town Casablanca, few will truly experience the country’s wild deserts.

Scarabeo Camp, located in the Agafay Desert, allows guests to stay in one of the world’s most inhospitable environments, with every home comfort they could wish for. Its unique glamping tents have African woven matting, Moroccan Berber rugs and atmospheric lanterns. It's a place to truly get away from it all by taking in the landscape on buggy or quad rides, relaxing during yoga classes or massage sessions, or observing the stars and the moon with an astronomer.

This dreamy waterfall makes its velvety cascade in a remote area a little outside the Grand Canyon National Park. The landscape is incredible, with dramatic, honey-coloured gorges, waterfalls and blue-green swimming holes, with the vivid colours of Havasu Falls the most striking of all. It’s one of five waterfalls on the Havasupai Indian Reservation, whose residents are known as “people of the blue green water”.

Any avid hikers or wild swimming enthusiasts normally need to buy a permit when the season's dates go live, plus a reservation to camp overnight in order to reach the falls. But the advance organisation and arduous climbs in the searing heat are well worth it to experience the picture-perfect lagoon which awaits inside the canyon. Note the area is currently closed to visitors.

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No, that's not a mirage and is in fact a Prada store in the middle of the Texan desert, along US Route 90. But sadly you won't be able to stock up on designer goods here. Built in 2005, it's an installation by Berlin-based artists Elmgreen and Dragset, and it's being left to decay into the landscape. The merchandise in the window is real but the bags are bottomless and all the shoes are right-footed.

The Qasr Al Sarab Desert Resort looks like something from a fantasy film. This sprawling beige fortress-like resort sits marooned in the middle of the Liwa desert near the Saudi Arabian border. Inside, the resort is a verdant oasis of palm trees and swimming pools, a speck of green and blue within a sea of soft sand dunes that disappear into the horizon.

Located on the border of the Empty Quarter, the largest uninterrupted stretch of sand in the world, the resort is a great destination for dune-based activities. Think desert yoga at dawn, mountain biking, camel trekking and horse riding on your very own Arabian adventure.

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The Atacama Desert stretches around 60 miles (97km) along Chile’s Pacific Coast and is one of the driest places on Earth – the only true desert to receive less precipitation than the polar deserts. It's where Chilean artist Mario Irarrázabal decided to build his towering sculpture Mano de Desierto, or Hand of the Desert, in the early 1980s.

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