Huacachina is built around a small natural lake in the desert. Called the "oasis of America," it serves as a resort for local families from the nearby city of Ica, and increasingly as an attraction for tourists drawn by the sports of sandboarding and taking dune buggy rides on sand dunes that stretch several hundred feet high.
Legend holds that the lagoon was created when a beautiful native princess was apprehended at her bath by a young hunter. She fled, leaving the pool of water she had been bathing in to become the lagoon. The folds of her mantle, streaming behind her as she ran, became the surrounding sand dunes. And the woman herself is rumored to still live in the oasis as a mermaid.
Currently, private landowners near the oasis have installed wells, in order to access the groundwater. This has had the effect of drastically reducing the level of water in the oasis. To compensate for this water loss, and preserve the oasis as an aesthetically pleasing destination for tourists, the city began a process of artificially pumping water into the oasis.
Sadly the dunes around the town have been overtaken by crime. Many tourists have been mugged in broad daylight. It is not recommended that tourists climb the dunes alone or at night.
Erg Awbari Oasis
The salt levels are extremely high, and can be compared with the Dead Sea. This makes swimming easy, but make sure you have no rash or wounds before jumping in.
Around some of the lakes, there are ruins of old towns. Gebraoun was abandoned in 1991, although there are a few inhabitants still remaining. Gebraoun is also the largest of the lakes, 250 m by 300 m.
All in all, a round trip of the area is about 100 km.
Turfan Oasis
Turfan or Tulufan is an oasis city in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China. Its population was 254,900 at the end of 2003.
Turfan is located about 150 km southeast of Ürümqi, Xinjiang's capital, in a mountain basin, on the northern side of the Turfan Depression, at an elevation of 98 feet (30 meters) above sea level.
Turfan's climate is harsh, of the arid continental type, with very hot summers, very cold winters, and minimal precipitation, which amounts to only 20 mm (0.9 inch) per year. July is the hottest month, with averages highs of 39°C (103°F) and lows of 25°C (77°F), while January is the coldest, with highs of -4°C (26°F) and lows of -16°C (4°F). The Highest temperature ever measured in Turfan is 55°C (131°F) and the lowest is -38°C (-36.4°F).
However, the very heat and dryness of the summer, when combined with the area's ancient system of irrigation, allows the countryside around Turfan to produce great quantities of high-quality fruit.
Khar Nuur Oasis
Flanked by the breathtaking high mountain range of Khangai Nuruu, Zavkhan offers some of the most varied landscapes in Mongolia. Travellers will experience vast desert land, serene salt lakes and incredible sand dunes all within close proximity of each other. The sharp contrast in terrain makes travelling in this area unforgettable. This part of the country is still mostly untouched by travellers.
Maranhao Oasis
Maranhão is one of the states of Brazil in the north-eastern region. To the north is the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. Neighboring states are (from east clockwise) Piauí, Tocantins and Pará. The people of Maranhão have a distinctive accent. Maranhão is described in books such as The Land of the Palm Trees, by Gonçalves Dias, and Casas de Pensão by Aluísio de Azevedo.
The dunes of Lençóis are an important area of environment preservation. Also of interest is the state capital of São Luís, designated a Unesco World Heritage Site. Another important area of conservation is the delta of Parnaíba, between the states of Maranhão and Piauí, with its lagoons, desert dunes and deserted beaches or islands, such as the Caju island, which shelters rare birds.
Crescent Lake
Yueyaquan is a crescent-shaped lake in the oasis, 5 km southwest of the city Dunhuang of Gansu province, China. It was named Yueyaquan since Qing Dynasty. According to measurement made in 1960, the average depth of the lake was 4 to 5 meters, with maximum depth 7.5 meters. In the following 40 years, the depth of lake continually declined. In the early 1990s, the area of the lake had shrunken to only 1.37-acre (5,500 m2) with average depth of 0.9 meter (maximum 1.3 meter). Although local government had plans to restore the depth through filling with water, the lack of budget has delayed their actions. The lake and the surrounding deserts are very popular with tourists, who are offered camel and 4x4 rides.
Chebika Oasis
Chebika is an oasis of mountains south of Tunisia, specifically in the west of the governorate of Tozeur. It is without doubt the ancient outpost of Ad Speculum. Located on the limes Saharan linking Tébessa to Gafsa, the Romans and used mirrors to communicate with the other posts and point out any enemy incursions.
The current village Chebika is built near the old village abandoned in 1969 as a result of floods killer who made more than 400 dead in Tunisia.. The site, written Duvignaud Jean, "is placed in the intersection of two advances of the mountain which opens here to the desert"
Timia oasis
Timia is a small town in northern Niger situated at an oasis in the Aïr Mountains, Agadez Region, Arlit Department. Visitors come to the Tuareg town to see a seasonal waterfall, a former French fort and the nearby ruined town of Assodé.
Timia lies south of Iferouane and north of Agadez. The main town lies around 3km from a stone Guelta oasis, which holds water year round. It is also known for its fruit trees, an unusual sight in the Saharan regions of northern Niger.
The name originally referred Tineghir the mountain "IGHIR" which meant the shoulder Tamazight, but it has gradually expanded to bring together all the villages around and give this name to the whole oasis.
The city proper of Tineghir (Baladia tinghir) has 36 000 inhabitants while the oasis as a whole amounted to 86 500 inhabitants according to the 2004 Census. Tineghir, as the region of Ouarzazate, is populated by Amazighs. Tineghir is at the center of one of the most beautiful oases of southern Morocco. This lush palm covers about 30 miles on 500 to 1500 m wide along the wadi Todgha. After Gorge, Wadi Todgha is difficult to spawn a passage on the southern slopes of the great atlas (Tizgui), then leads into the great plain to meanders slightly over twenty kilometers up Ferkla.
The palm Todgha, very dense and widespread, consists of only two sides of the ASSIF Todgha, it is irrigated by a network of pipes called tirgouine (plural of Târgu). Absorbed by a large number of irrigation canals, water from the ASSIF Todgha generally can not Ferkla up. Ferkla through his bed and then lay in the Ghris, but there are times when water during heavy floods, and it usually only lasts a few days.
credited to wikipedia, looklex.com, mxpadventure.com and flickr users: utzivan, ladigue_99, taaleem, cledabaumal, chicow, bergmaaj, rluca, ilanphoto
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