Planet Earth's Best Unearthly Landscapes

It's been over four decades since we first landed on the moon and yet, the hope of space tourism remains as far-flung as ever. Perfect space oddity isn't it? Just as well, then, that getting that out-of-this-world feeling without parting with the planet is simpler to execute than a Vulcan salute!

So, all you celestial plebes, moonwalkers and stellar travelers - get ready for lift off, as we take you to some of our favourite outer-space hotspots right here on earth.

Valle de la Luna (Valley of the Moon), Chile

When Buzz Aldrin was talking about the moon's glorious desolation, h might just have been referring to Chile's Valle de la Luna. Outlandish astral landforms gnarled by eons of untamed conditions throng the horizon; austere sandbanks and far-flung volcanoes amp up the surreality. For utmost brunt, stopover during sunset when the vale is suffused in an unearthly purple, pink and gold glow



Volcanic Iceland



Speckled with vivid and striking steam vents, sparkling mud pots, odd rock patterns and lava fields, Iceland is a sci-film in the offing. The ascetically beautiful and gloriously strange landscapes around Myvatn will make you question what planet you're on.



Southeastern Utah, USA



You are closer to mars than you think while in Canyon lands and Arches National Parks in southeastern Utah. These places seriously give the red planet a run for its money with their their jagged archways, conduits, needles, spires, craters, mesas and buttes. Touchdown during high summer for that extra blast of extraterrestrial power.



Lac Abbe, Djibouti





Seen from out here everything seems different. Time bends. Space is boundless. Gawking mesmerized upon Lac Abbe's natural smoldering 'chimneys' and cosmic, uncanny salt plains.



Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia



This gigantic, flickering sea of salt will irk your musings for years to come. In reality, such is Salar de Uyuni's awe-inspiring, blinding-white otherworldliness; it possibly would just send you into interstellar overdrive.