Places That Look Like Planets
Featured destinations: Central & South America, Europe, USA
Published 30 March 2016
When we travel, most of us go with the hope of getting away from reality. But if you want to go one step further, why not visit these peculiar locations – you’ll really feel like you’re on another planet.
Bolivia’s Salt Pans
These natural salt pan spread for miles across the Bolivian landscape, made up of salt and other minerals. A salt pan is created when large pools of water evaporated and are bleached white after thousands of years of soaking in the sun’s rays. Although, if you let your imagine run free you can pretend that you’re on the moon.
Ethiopia’s Danakil Depression
This geological depression looks as though it belongs on violent planet, surrounded by toxic clouds. From the angry crater bubbling with lava, to the green frothy lands, and unbearable heat, you’re bound to feel as though you’re on unidentifiable territory.
The Tunisian desert
Any desert can look like it belongs on the surface of Mars, but the Chott El Jerid in the Tunisia desert is somewhat different. Walking around this desert you’ll see small igloos dotted around as though Eskimos used to live here, but really they have been left over from the set of the famous film series, Star Wars. Definitely a location for any sci-fi fan.
Iceland’s no mans land
Iceland has a reputation of being a violent land with 80% of the country marked as uninhabitable. The frequency of volcanoes and earthquakes over thousands of years has left a rubbled land perfectly resembling a foreign planet.
It’s not just us who have noticed this, Iceland was the chosen film set for sci-fi thriller Oblivion, starring Tom Cruise.
Australia’s pink lake
Appropriately named Lake Pink, this salt lake can be found in Western Australia. The lake gets it’s colour from the vast concentration of brine prawn, and pink halobracteria which grows at the bottom of the lake.
North America’s Bryce Canyon
The Bryce Canyon National Park is one of the most stunning locations on our planet. But, if you wanted you could easily pretend you were walking through deep canyons on Mars. The distinct orange colour, unique rock formations and beautiful scenery will have you expecting to see an alien life form creeping round the corner at any point.