Mongolia's 'Singing Dunes' rise 300 metres from the Gobi's gravel plains and hum — audibly, uncannily — when wind or sliding sand sets them off. Getting there is a multi-day 4x4 expedition staying in ger camps with herding families, past ice canyons and the Flaming Cliffs where the first dinosaur eggs were unearthed. The barefoot climb up the ridge at sunset is brutal and non-negotiable. Go in June or September to dodge both extremes of a properly continental climate.
Featured in Ten desert adventures worth the sand in your boots · Adventure