Eight miles west of San Pedro de Atacama lies the enchanting Valley of the Moon — a lunar-like sanctuary of windswept dunes and sculpted rocks, a hidden planet beneath Chile’s sun.

Sunsets, sandboarding, lagoons and dune buggy rides. Huacachina is a tiny village and desert oasis west of Ica in southwestern Peru. Its center is filled with emerald green waters of the Huacachina Lagoon, thought to have therapeutic properties.